Call of the Lions: Secrets of the Lions
by RedLion2
Summary: Second in the "Call of the Lions" series. As Allura, Keith, and the team try to make a home on Arus and defend it from their enemies, they must deal with the sentient mechanical lions and learn the secrets they possess. K/A, Lance x OC.
1. Chapter 1

This is the second story in the _Call of the Lions_ series. I do not own Voltron or its associated characters. Madison Dukane and Sera are original characters.

So begins the second story in the _Call of the Lions_ series. I will also be writing one-shots and shorter stories that will be told from the other characters' points of view that will go along with the longer series. The first one, _Take a Risk_ , is already up. While not Keith and Allura-centered, they revolve around what's happening in the longer stories.

CALL OF THE LIONS:

SECRETS OF THE LIONS

CHAPTER ONE:

Allura pulled aside another box of odds and ends that she and Sera had found earlier that morning in a closet they'd discovered in one of the upper west wing rooms. It was hot outside, and the inescapable heat had filled the small room, causing both women to sweat with their exertions. Keith and Sven had offered to help go through the room, but Allura had waved them off. They had other things they needed to be doing.

"Do you think it's possible the keys are in here somewhere?" Sera asked. She had her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, and she was looking through a big box.

"I hope so. They have to be around here somewhere," Allura said, but knew that "somewhere" could really be "anywhere." The lions had not been forthcoming when asked if they knew where the keys were, and it was getting very frustrating. She wanted to see them fly, and form Voltron. And truth be told, she wanted to get them functioning at their utmost so that she didn't feel like she needed to spend every waking moment trying to figure them out.

"Hey."

She smiled in spite of the situation and glanced over her shoulder at her boyfriend. Keith was leaning against the door frame, one hand on his slim hip, that darkly intent look on his face that always made her heart spasm in excitement. "You two should take a break. Hunk's got food out."

Allura nodded and rose gracefully to her feet. "Come on, Sera. We'll go through some more after lunch."

The younger woman stood up and stretched. "I hope we find them soon. It will be good to have the lions flying again."

"If that's what they need," Keith said, and Allura frowned at him. "What? We don't know for sure that the keys make them fly."

"No, but it's as good a guess as any, especially since they aren't talking to us at the moment," she said. Her irritation with the mechanical cats was understandable, and Keith pulled her to him for a hug. She didn't resist; she leaned into him, needing a moment of support. They hadn't spent as much time together over the last month, not since he'd gone down into the caves to confront Romelle, but her anger at him had bled off over the last few weeks. She still felt they'd needed to cool their relationship down, because they needed to get the castle defenses and the lions ready to fight, but she did miss their closeness. Still, they knew they loved one another. They'd be able to get back to their regular routine after the castle and lions were done.

Sera gave them both a smile and slipped out, and Keith turned Allura in his arms and frowned down at her. "You're working too hard, sweetheart. We'll find the keys. You know we will."

She sighed and tried to push back from him, but he held fast. "Keith."

"We don't have to work every second of every day," he whispered and tipped her chin up gently. She gave a small shake of her blonde head.

"You and I both know what we need to do, and this isn't it, not right now," she said. "I love you, more than anything, but when Lotor shows up again, we need to be ready."

He brought his mouth down to hers and whispered, "I know. But this won't take long." And he smiled and kissed her, and she sighed a little against him, trying not to relax into his hold. But he was right, what was the harm? This wasn't taking up any time, not really. She relaxed into his arms and wrapped her own around his waist, holding him closer to her.

The alarm system shrieked, and they immediately pulled apart and turned, racing out of the closet, out of the room it was in, and down the hall. Allura's heart hammered hard in her chest. They weren't ready for another attack, not yet. They ran hard for the control room on the bottom floor, and found Sven and Hunk standing with arms crossed over their chests, watching the radar screens.

"What is it?" Keith asked, his voice hard.

"Not sure," Sven said. He glanced at Allura. "There's a ship circling out there, just beyond our atmosphere."

She frowned and reached out to touch one of the controls. It zoomed in the image, and she said, "Not Alliance."

"No," Sven said, shaking his head. "Not Lotor, either, I don't think."

"Sure would be nice to have the lions up and flying right now," Hunk said. His voice was calm, but Allura heard the frustration in it. "We gotta find those keys."

"And we will. But they can't do anything for us right now," Keith said, his voice sharp. "Where are the others?"

"Down in the hangar," Sven said. "Madi's having trouble with Onyx's systems again."

Keith swore. "And we need him up and running. Hunk, call down there and tell Madi we need Onyx up here."

"Can't you just tell him yourself?" Hunk asked, glancing at him.

Keith shook his head. "I already tried. He's not listening to me."

"All right." Hunk walked over to another console, and Allura heard him hailing Madi on the frequency to the hangar.

"Ship's moving," Sven said, and Keith moved nearer to the screen. "Want me to try hailing it?"

"No. Not yet. I want Onyx up here before we talk to it," Keith said. "Hunk?"

"Madi said Onyx is totally down, even the electrical systems aren't working," Hunk said. He sounded wary. "She said she has no idea what's going on with him."

"Damn it." Keith nodded to Sven. "Let's try hailing that ship, see if they answer us."

Sven nodded and flipped a switch. "Unidentified aircraft, this is Castle of Lions control. Please state your business in our airspace." His voice was calm and cool, detached. They all waited, hoping for some sort of response.

"Calling ourselves 'Castle of Lions,' are we?" The voice was female, young, and mocking. "Aren't we full of ourselves?"

"Who is this?" Sven asked. His voice was still calm, but not quite as cool as it had been.

There was a burst of static and then, "This is Her Royal Highness Princess Genova, daughter of King Zarkon, brother to Prince Lotor." Her voice was full of smug arrogance, and she added, "And you're on my brother's property."

"This planet belongs to Princess Allura and Prince Lance," Sven said, and Allura noticed a grin slip across his face. It still sounded bizarre to all of them to use those titles.

"We'll see about that." Genova's voice dropped in temp.

"The ship's leaving our air space," Sven said, his voice low. "Want to say anything else?"

"No. Let her go." Keith turned away. "At least we know there's a sibling, too, that I'm sure we'll end up dealing with." He blew out a frustrated breath. "I'm going down to the hangar to see what's up with Onyx." He glanced at Allura. "You want to go with me?"

She nodded, anxious to find out why the black lion was out of commission. She was also anxious about this new development in their situation. Her visions hadn't really shown her much about Zarkon and his family; she wasn't happy about learning there was another one in that family to worry about. Keith led the way, his strides determined and long, and she nearly had to jog to keep up. They reached the hangar in record time, and upon entering, found Madi hanging out of the cockpit, calling something down to Lance and Pidge, who both stood with their arms folded over their chests. Lance looked at them, and Allura saw the deep scowl on his face.

He gestured up toward Madi. "Damn lion went cold," he said, shaking his head. "Nothing will turn on – he won't even flash his eyes at us now."

Keith walked up to Onyx and tapped the lion's side. "What's up with you, big fella?" he asked. "Madi, any reasons you can think of that he'd do this?" he called up to the honey-blonde.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "Everything seems fine."

"Will he talk to you?" Keith asked.

"No. None of the others will, either." She started to climb out of the cockpit, and Lance moved forward. "I got this," she called down to him, clearly agitated.

"I know," he muttered, and Allura flashed him a sympathetic smile. Lance and Madi had been dating for roughly two weeks, and it hadn't been easy going on the arrogant Air Force pilot. He was used to women who fell at his feet, swooning whenever he flashed a smile. But Madison Dukane, former AIC agent, was a very different kind of woman, and he was gallantly trying to learn how to woo her. "Be careful," he called up to her when her foot slipped.

Keith waited until she'd reached the floor and said, "I want to know why he's down. Do whatever you need to do to figure it out." His tone was brusque, and Madi frowned.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

"You didn't hear the alarms?" Allura asked.

"No," Lance said, frowning. "They aren't wired in yet down here."

"Turns out Lotor has a sister," Keith said. "And she's not friendly."

"Great. That's all we need," Lance said, shaking his head. "And now the lions are down, for whatever reasons."

"Find out why," Keith said. "I need to help Sven and Hunk with that armored plating across the top gun turret." He looked at Allura. "You going back up with me?"

"No, I'm going to hang here for a few minutes," she said, wanting to speak privately with Madi about the lions. She had an idea about why they were down, and wanted to run it by their resident Mechanical Magician.

"Okay." Keith nodded to them all and left the hangar, and Allura motioned to Madi. When Lance made to follow them, Allura waved him off, making him frown.

"What is it?" Madi asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Do you think the lions are failing because we don't have the keys?" Allura asked, watching her younger friend closely.

"Hmm." Madi frowned, thinking. "That could explain it, I guess. I know that Onyx and Jade haven't been themselves since Keith and Pidge had to fight with them. It seems like that fight, all that effort, drained them quite a bit." She looked over at the massive black mechanical lion. "If that's the reason, though, we need to find those keys yesterday."

"I know. I wish we had some clue as to where they might be," Allura said. She knew the mental connections with the lions had been weaker in the last few days, and now wondered if the lions were losing themselves without the keys. "There are so many places we haven't looked yet, and we're still finding places where they could be hid."

"It's frustrating," Madi said, sighing. She frowned and added, "And Lance really needs to give it a rest. He's been down here all day."

"You guys are dating. Don't you want him with you sometimes?" Allura asked, smiling.

"I do. But it's like he's afraid to leave me alone, for fear I'll break up with him," she said, shaking her head. She leaned back against the table where various electrical parts were spread out. "I know I'm not real easy to be with, but still. And we need to find the keys and figure out the lions."

"Why don't you come up to the castle with me and we'll look? If Onyx and the others are down, there's no sense tampering with them," Allura said.

"Okay." Madi pushed off from the table and together the two women walked over to where Pidge and Lance were talking and gesturing up at the lion. "Allura and I are going to look for the keys," Madi told them.

"Okay, we'll go with you," Lance said. He moved to her side but didn't touch her. Allura smiled to herself. It was fun watching him try to figure out how to handle Madi.

"I'll stay here with Onyx," Pidge said. He glanced at the big lion. "I feel like someone should stay with him."

"Okay," Allura said. "Come up and eat when you're ready." Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten anything yet, either. The three of them started up the stairs cut into the side of the cliff wall, and she found herself musing about Princess Genova. _I wonder if she has any power, or if she just roams around her brother's supposed air space in her fancy cruiser._ She had sounded younger, but Allura knew being young didn't mean you weren't a threat. They'd have to be watchful, more so than they had been, with this newly-revealed family member of Zarkon's around. She sighed to herself. She'd hoped to have been further along that this with both the castle defenses and the lions, but it wasn't easy doing repairs with limited supplies. They'd had Onyx and Garnet drag their Starfinder ship close to the hangar so they could salvage parts off it, but even then, it was slow-going.

Keith, Hunk, and Sven were standing around the kitchen eating when the others walked in, and Keith reached out to take Allura by the arm and draw her to him. He'd been more affectionate in the last two weeks, and she wondered if it had anything to do with Lance's new relationship with Madi. And it wasn't that she didn't like the attention – far from it. She was deeply in love with Keith, but they had responsibilities to Arus, the lions, and each other that needed to be met.

"Everything okay?" Keith whispered, dropping his head so his breath tickled her ear. "I mean, relatively speaking."

"It is," Allura whispered, nodding. "Can I talk to you outside?" Keith nodded and followed her out into the hall.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice low. She saw the concern in his dark eyes, and stepped closer to him, suddenly needing to be closer, to feel the warmth of him radiating through his black T shirt. "Hey," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her. "Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, really," she whispered. She snuggled into his hold. "I'm just frustrated with everything. And Madi and I think the lions are fading because we don't have the keys."

"You think the magic's fading?"

"Yes," she said, nodding. She pulled back a little from him. "Madi said Jade and Onyx both have been weaker since the robeast attack, and our mental links with all of them haven't been as strong. We need the keys, Keith. I really think if we don't find them, the lions' magic will be lost." Her voice broke just a little, and he instantly hugged her to him, dropping his head down on hers and cocooning her in warmth and security.

"We'll find them. I know we will. We can all look. The weapons' systems can wait. Sven and Lance got that gun turret functioning, so we at least have that." He tipped her chin up and grazed her lips gently with his own. "I promise, Allura, we'll get the lions running again."

She hugged him tight, relishing his words and his nearness. Now, she wasn't so sure why she'd pushed him away over the last month. She'd been angry with him, of course – she still didn't think he'd needed to go visit Romelle, but she'd missed this. Touching his strong jaw with her fingers, she pressed her lips to his, wanting and needing his intimacy. He responded with one hand coming up to cup the back of her head, his mouth intense on hers. She sighed against him, every bone in her body softening until she couldn't stand, and he supported her, his other strong hand at her waist, holding her close against him. When they finally parted, she put her face against his chest, listening to his quickened heart beats, and wishing that she never had to move.

"Allura, are you – oh."

Allura pulled back and turned her head to see Madi standing there, her face beat red. Keith kept his arms around Allura, as though unwilling to let go of her just yet. "I'm ready," Allura told the younger woman.

"Okay. Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt," Madi said, turning away, clearly embarrassed.

"Keith—"

"We'll find the keys, sweetheart," he murmured to her, kissing her cheek. "Keep your head up. The guys and I will look this afternoon, too." He let go of her and she stepped away. Lance, Sven, and Hunk emerged from the kitchen, and Lance frowned.

"Madi gone already?" he asked.

"She went that way," Keith said. "We're going to help the girls look for the keys. Allura and Madi both think the lions are losing their magic because they haven't had their keys in so long."

Sven nodded. "Makes sense to me," he said. "Where should we start looking?"

"Anywhere," Allura told them. "Sera and I searched in the west wing upstairs but hadn't found anything yet." She paused, a pensive look on her face. "Where is Sera?"

"Not sure. We haven't see her," Hunk said, shrugging. "Maybe she went to see Pidge."

"Maybe." An inkling of unease slid through Allura's body. She liked the young girl quite a bit, and Sera had been nothing but helpful since they'd met her down in the caves, but she did tend to disappear at times. She always had a good excuse, but Allura still didn't like it. She'd be talking to Sera about it that night.

"All right, let's split up," Keith said. He gave Allura a kiss on the cheek. "Why don't you and Madi stick together. If we find anything, we'll let you know."

"Okay." Allura nodded to the men and headed after Madi, already knowing where her friend was headed. Madi thought the keys might be hidden down in the old dungeon, and though Lance had repeatedly warned her to stay out of there, unless he was with her, she didn't tend to listen. Allura opened the door that led down to the dungeon and descended the stairs, breathing quietly and listening. The men had bolted the door shut that led from the dungeon out into the caves, the door that Coran had taken them through, and though Allura knew it was safe down here, it was still a bit unnerving.

"Madi?" she called out.

"Yeah, I'm here. I think I found something," Madi called back, and Allura's heart lifted at the excitement in her friend's voice. She hurried over to a remote corner where Madi was bent over something.

"The keys?" Allura asked, hardly daring it to be true.

"No." Madi straightened and sighed. "I thought I'd found a hidden switch or something, but turns out it's just a piece of broken rock." Her voice had a note of dejection in it. "Sorry I interrupted you and Keith."

"No, it's fine." Allura bent down to touch the rock Madi was talking about. As her slender fingers slid along the edges, there was a slight groaning noise, and the wall began to shake slightly, the dirt and dust of the past decades shifting and sliding off. "What in the world…" Allura straightened and moved back along with Madi, and the two women watched as the wall began to move backward, leaving a narrow walkway in which to step through. The two looked at one another, and Allura grinned. "This might just be it," she whispered.

"Let's go." Madi started to move toward the opening, but Allura grabbed her arm.

"No. We need to get the others. We don't know what's behind this wall, and if it the keys _are_ in there, they should be here to see it," she said.

Madi huffed out an impatient sigh. "Okay, you're right. But tell them to hurry."

Allura nodded. "I'll be right back. Don't you dare go in there by yourself," she commanded.

"I won't. I promise." Madi was frowning. "We really need to get our communications up and running again." A violent lightning storm three nights ago and had knocked out most of their communications systems, including the one that allowed them to communicate with each other via earpieces.

"We will. But this first." Allura took off on a run, knowing Madi would obey her. She raced up the stairs and stopped, wondering where the guys would've gone. Hearing voices down the hall, she followed them and found Lance and Hunk.

"Hey," Lance said, turning to her. "You okay, AC?" He walked over to her, concern in his eyes. "Madi okay?"

"We're fine," she said, nodding. "We found a passageway, down in the dungeon."

"Dungeon." His hazel eyes sparked with green fire. "I told her to stay out of there unless I was with her." He started to go around her, but she grabbed his arm.

"She's fine, Lance. That other door is bolted shut – nothing can get through." She waited for him to settle down for a second, and said, "But we think the passageway might lead to the keys." The excitement in her voice finally hit him, and he grinned.

"Well hell, AC, why didn't you mention that first?" He glanced over at Hunk. "Come on, let's go find us some keys."

"We need to get the others, too," Allura said. "Keith, Sven, and Pidge will want to be there if the keys are there."

"Yeah, you're right. I'll run down and grab Pidge," Lance said, and moved toward the door. "Keith and Sven went upstairs."

"Thanks," Allura said. She looked at Hunk. "You want to go keep Madi company?"

A slow grin rolled across the big man's handsome face. "Don't quite trust our little Magician, do ya?" he asked.

Allura grinned back. "Not when the keys might be down there, no."

"Yeah, I'll keep her company," he said and left the room. Allura hurried toward the nearest staircase that led upward, and climbed toward the west wing, where she and Sera had been earlier. She found the other two men in the same closet she'd been in earlier, and explained what had been found.

Keith's eyes narrowed a little. "I didn't realize the two of you had been going down there. Even though that door's bolted shut, you still shouldn't go down there without—"

"What? One of you guys?" Allura sighed. "Madison and I are quite capable of defending ourselves if we need to. I think we've already established that."

"Yeah, you have," Sven said, nodding. He shot Keith a dark look. "Enough arguing about the girls being able to take care of themselves. We know you can, honey," he added, giving Allura's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Come on. Let's go see if the keys are there."

Allura started to follow him out, but Keith held her back. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I know you're a tough girl. I just worry about you," he said, his tone contrite.

She gave him a quick hug. "I know, handsome." She stepped back, her blue eyes shining. "I forgive you. Come on." He grinned and followed her, and they ran to catch up with Sven. When they got down to the dungeon, Allura was relieved to see all of the others, minus Sera, waiting for them. Lance was standing next to Madi, one hand on her shoulder, and Allura exchanged a happy look with the other woman.

She moved to the passageway and started to step through, but stopped and looked at Keith. He gave her an encouraging nod. "It's okay. I'll be right behind you," he assured her, and reached to take her hand, giving it a tight squeeze. "Let's go."

Allura grinned, took a deep breath, and stepped through.


	2. Chapter 2

Here is chapter two, and it will probably raise more questions than answer. I know you're all anxious to see where this is all heading, but I promise, all will be revealed :-)

Thank you for the nice reviews so far.

CALL OF THE LIONS

SECRETS OF THE LIONS

CHAPTER TWO:

Keith held his breath as his girlfriend stepped through the passageway. He kept a firm hold on her hand, just in case there was something inside waiting to grab onto her. But when he followed her, he was surprised to see a vast emptiness. The others followed them in, and all of them stopped, breathing quietly, just surveying the room. It looked like it extended for nearly the length of a football field, and for as far as they could see, it appeared void of anything. He clicked on a flashlight, even though it wasn't that dark.

"Let's see what we find," he said, moving to the head of the group. Lance, Pidge, and Sven also had flashlights, and they started across the massive room. It was silent, almost eerily so, and the floor was sand, pristine and glittering.

"Anyone else weirded out right now?" Hunk whispered, and even at that volume, his voice seemed to echo around the whole room.

"It's almost like a crypt," Madi said, and walked a little closer to Lance. He reached out and took her hand, giving it a squeeze.

"Everyone stay close," Keith said. Allura was right next to him, and he could feel her excitement starting to wane. "They could still be in here," he whispered to her. "This place is huge."

"I know." She suddenly stopped, and he frowned, half-turning to face her.

"Sweetheart, what is it?" he asked. The rest stopped too, and he saw Lance stiffen and almost drop his flashlight. "McClain? What's wrong?"

"Lance?" Madi's voice was tentative as she, too, noticed her boyfriend's rigid posture.

"Anyone else hear that?" Pidge asked. He and Hunk stood near Sven, and all three of them looked apprehensive. There was a slight rustling sound, like a breeze moving through a tree, and Keith took a half-step closer to Allura and wrapped an arm around her, ready to protect her if needed. She was strangely silent and still, and he regretted letting her come in here before he'd scouted it out.

"Look," Sven breathed.

Ahead of them, twenty feet or so, a shape began to rise up out of the sand. Keith immediately put Allura behind him, and Hunk and Sven moved to his sides, keeping the others protected. Sven and Keith pulled their sidearms, though Keith wasn't sure what good they'd do. The shape continued to grow, and he realized it was a giant statue of some sort. When it had stopped moving, and he was sure they were safe from it, he said, "Sven, let's check it out. Hunk, Pidge, stay with the others." Without waiting for any confirmations, he strode forward, his heart hammering in his chest. To his friends, he looked calm and cold. Inside, he was anything but. As he and Sven neared the statue, he saw that it was of a man, wearing a helmet and what appeared to be battle armor. He carried a gun of some kind, and had a fierce expression.

"Wonder who he was," Sven said, his voice low and wary. "Do you think it's a trap of some kind?"

"Not sure yet." Keith made his way cautiously around the giant statue, wondering if there were more buried beneath them. The ground started to shake, and he stopped moving in order to keep his balance. Sven stayed close, watching the group behind them carefully.

"Something's wrong," he said, his voice rising. "Look."

Behind the others, between them and the passageway, another statue was rising out of the ground, this one smaller but still as fierce-looking. Keith swore. "We need to get out of here. Now." He started running back toward the group, but a loud rushing wind filled the room, buffeting him and Sven as they fought to get back to the others.

"What the hell?" Sven's voice was nearly lost in the roar of the wind, and Keith's heart dropped when yet another stature rose out of the ground. The two of them stopped, the wind preventing them from moving any further. Keith kept his eyes on Allura, who seemed frozen in place, her blue eyes wide as she stared at the first and largest statue.

The wind suddenly died, and the two men sprinted for their friends, who were wide-eyed and still. Keith waved his hand in front of Allura's face. "Something happened. She's not responsive," he said, his voice curt.

"They aren't, either," Sven said, shaking his head. "We should've scouted this out before we let them all in." There was self-loathing in his voice. "Damn it. I know better than this."

"Yeah, me too." Keith heard a noise behind him and slowly turned his head, almost hating to look. "Sven…"

"What?" Sven snapped, but then said in a softer voice, "Damn."

A soft blue glow had enveloped the largest statue, and as the two men watched, a shadowy figure began to emerge. It was tall and heavily-armored, and Keith realized it was just like the statue. Sven drew his gun again, and Keith did as well, knowing instinctively that the weapons would be useless against the figure should it decide to try and harm them. The figure moved slowly toward them, and all at once, Keith felt a strong feeling of peace wash through over him. It was like nothing he'd ever felt before. He glanced at Sven and saw that his friend looked as relaxed as Keith felt.

The figure stopped a few feet from them, and bowed his head to them. "Welcome home, guardian and protector," he said to Keith. His voice was a dry rustle. Looking at Sven, he said, "To the royal nobleman, I welcome you back to the Castle of Lions."

"Who are you?" Keith asked. He kept his voice low.

"My name is not important. I am simply here to welcome the royal family home."

"Yeah well, the 'royal family' is frozen or something," Sven said. There was an edge of ice in his voice.

The figure made a chuckling sound that sounded like wind through the desert. "They are fine, I assure you. I wanted to speak specifically with the two of you."

"Why us?" Keith asked. He'd put his gun back in its holster and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You, Lieutenant Colonel Kogane, because you are the Princess's chosen mate and last remaining guardian of this royal house," he said. His gaze shifted to Sven. "And you, Major Holgersson, because you are the last of the true royal noblemen of our time. Your family was also charged with protecting this castle and her investments. You two men are the last true remaining protectors of our fair planet."

"But there are two others who are also from noble families," Keith pointed out. "Garrett and Stoker."

"Yes, they are, but of lesser families than those of Major Holgersson. It has been a very long time waiting for you all to return." The spirit's eyes glowed hotter for a moment. "You must protect this planet from Zarkon and his family. There is much magic here to be guarded."

"Speaking of magic," Sven said, glancing at Keith, "where are the keys for the lions hidden?"

"I was wondering when you would ask." The spirit chuckled. "That is for you all to discover. The lions have many secrets, and you must be patient about finding them all out."

Keith sighed. "Look, I appreciate you talking to us, but really, you haven't given us much information." He still felt that overwhelming sense of peace, but also a little agitation.

The spirit smiled, but there was an underlying snarl to it. "This is a tomb, Lieutenant Colonel Kogane. And I am its keeper. You will respect me."

"I do," Keith said, nodding. "But we need the keys for the lions. Their magic is fading. They can't communicate with us any longer."

The spirit raised a hand and pointed back at the group. "You have a Mechanical Magician at your disposal. That is her job to keep the lions' magic safe."

"She doesn't know how," Sven said. There was irritation in his voice. "We're new to all this," he added, sweeping his hand around the huge cavern.

The spirit took a step back from them. "Yes, but this is your birthright. You will all learn the secrets of the lions and learn to harness the magic that flows through Arus." He started to fade as more rumbling filled the large chamber. Four more statues, all different, were rising out of the ground. The spirit called out to them, "Protect and guard the magic."

Before Keith could say anything to him, he had disappeared, and they were left staring at the seven statues. Sven had walked over to one of them, and turning his head to look at Keith, said, "This one looks like she was maybe one of the Magicians."

Keith walked over to him and looked at the statue. "Yeah, it does." He nodded to another one. "And that one looks like she could be related to Allura."

"So maybe these are tomb markers? For our ancestors?" Sven asked. His voice had unease running through it. "We should get the others and get out of here."

Keith slid a look in his direction. "You scared, Army puke? We just saw what I'm guessing was one of our ancestors. Mine, probably." The thought was sobering, but he wasn't by any means afraid of the spirit.

Sven growled something under his breath, and nodded at the others. "Shouldn't they be coming out of it now?"

Keith walked over to Allura and gently took her face in his hands. "You would think so." He kissed her cheek. "Allura? Sweetheart?"

For a moment, there was no response, but then she inhaled a deep breath, blinked her eyes, and frowned at him. "What? Is everything okay?"

He grinned at her and planted a soft kiss on the tip of her nose. "Everything's fine, baby."

She looked past him and her blue eyes widened. "What in the world…Keith? What happened here?"

He took hold of her hand and gave it a squeeze. Around them, the others were coming out of the trance-like state they'd been in, and he waited until they had come closer to him and Allura. "Sven and I got to talk to one of our ancestors," he said. "I'm guessing he was mine. He said this is a tomb, and we're guessing these seven statues represent all of our families."

"You actually talked to one of the spirits?" Allura asked, sounding amazed. "That's wonderful! Did he tell you where the keys are?"

"Um, no." Keith shook his head. "He said there is lots of magic flowing through Arus, and that we have to guard it and protect it. He also said the lions have lots of secrets, and that we have to discover them for ourselves."

"Great." Lance let out a long sigh. "So the lions' are fading, and this spirit guy wants us to find the keys on our own. Nice."

"We will," Allura said. "I know we will." She squeezed Keith's hand. "That must have been amazing, talking to him."

"It was, but I do wish he'd given us more to go on," Keith said, nodding. "I guess we might as well go back upstairs and search for the keys. I want the lions operational as quickly as possible."

"I'd like to stay here," Allura told him. "I want to look around."

Keith's first instinct was to tell her no, unless he stayed with her. But after his encounter with the spirit, and the peace that had filled him in his presence, he no longer felt like Allura was in constant danger here. "Yeah, that's fine," he told her. "Anyone else want to stay?"

"Uh, no," Hunk said, shaking his head. "No offense to our ancestors, but this place gives me the creeps."  
"Yeah, me too," Pidge said. "And I don't think the lions should be left alone."

"I'll stay," Madi offered. "Maybe Allura and I will learn something that can help us."

"All right, then the rest of us will search for the keys and keep a look-out in case Lotor's little sister comes back," Keith said. He gave Allura a soft kiss. "Have fun."

"We will," she whispered. "Thank you for trusting me down here."

He frowned and led her away from the others. When he was closer to the statue than to the group, he said, "Honey, I always trust you. It's not that. You know I just worry about you being safe."

"I know that. But I'm tough. You don't have to worry so much," she assured him. "You seem pretty at ease for having just talked to your ancestor's spirit."

"Funny thing, that. I feel really peaceful about the experience," he told her. He pulled her close and held her tight to him, running his fingers along her soft cheek. "I promise I'll quit being so protective. Just remember that that's part of my job, though, as the last remaining royal guard." He couldn't quite hide his smile as he said it, and she grinned and poked him in the chest.

"I know. But as the last remaining princess, it's _my_ job to learn everything I can about Arus, the magic, and the lions." She backed away from him. "Now, I should start exploring, see if I can find anything out down here."

"Okay." He let her go and watched her walk off toward the statues with Madi. He saw Lance watching Madi, a scowl on his face, and smiled to himself. Lance would have to learn to let go, too – at least a little. He made his way over to the guys, and they headed back out of the tomb.

"You think they're okay here by themselves?" Lance asked, glancing back at the two women.

"Yes," Keith said, nodding. "I'm sure of it."

"Okay." Lance didn't sound too happy, but Keith knew he would get over it.

"So where do we start looking for the keys?" Hunk asked.

"We'll split up, each of us take a different wing," Keith said. "It'll go faster that way. Pidge, I want you up here at the castle, too. Until we find the keys, I don't think it matters if anyone is with the lions." He kept an even tone, knowing how sensitive the younger man could be. He had bonded with Jade, and it was hard for him to know the lions were fading.

"Okay," Pidge said, his voice quiet. Lance reached out and cuffed him lightly on the shoulder.

"Kogane's right. The sooner we find the keys, the sooner the lions get their magic back," he said.

"I know." Pidge sighed. "I just wish that spirit had given you more information. I mean, it's not even the magic with the lions – it's everything. They're electrical and mechanical systems are failing, too. It's almost like—" He abruptly left off and stared at the floor as they walked up the steps.

"Almost like what?" Sven asked, exchanging a look with Keith.

"Like they're dying," Pidge said. He huffed out a breath. "I know that sounds stupid, but that's what it feels like to me."

"That's not stupid," Hunk assured him. "I think Madi feels the same way."

The men cleared the top of the stairwell and stood, waiting for Keith to direct them. "Pidge, take the top west wing. I know Allura and Sera were working up there, but they haven't gotten through all of it."

"Where is Sera, anyway?" Sven asked. "I haven't seen her all day."

"She was headed to eat the last time I saw her," Keith said, not liking that one of their group was missing. The thought had crossed his mind many times before that she could be a spy for Zarkon or Lotor, but Coran and his people had seemed to know and trust her. He gave a slight shake of his head. "Just spread out. Let's get looking for the keys. Sera will show up." He was confident that they'd see her again, and soon. She didn't seem to like being left on her own.

The others hurried off and Keith took a few moments to think about what all had just happened. _I got to talk to an ancestor. Man, that was pretty cool._ A small grin crossed his face, and he walked down the hallway toward the east wing. Though the spirit hadn't given them much to go on, he hadn't seemed concerned with the lions' losing their magic. _If was a really horrible thing, it seems like he would've been a lot more upset._ He tried reaching out in his mind to Onyx, but like the past week, the big lion was silent. It was disturbing, not being able to communicate with the black mecha, and he hoped they'd be able to find the keys soon and restore the lions' magic to them.

Rounding a turn in the massive hallway, he suddenly stopped short. Sera was running toward him, head bowed, tears streaming down her cheeks, and he rushed to her. "Sera! What is it? Are you all right?" Keith asked, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She was trying to brush her tears away, and he gave her a few moments to catch her breath and compose herself. "Sera?"

She sniffled and whispered, "It's the lions, Commander. I went to see Pidge, but he wasn't there, and—" She broke down into sobs again, and he tightened his arm around her, wanting her to feel safe.

"Shh, it's okay," he murmured. "What happened at the hangar?"

Taking a deep breath, she said, "When I went in the hangar, Onyx was kind of thrashing around, and the hangar was a mess. And the others, too, they were making these metal groaning sounds, like they were in pain." She lifted her blue eyes to his dark ones and whispered, "They're dying, Commander. We have to hurry."

Keith's heart plummeted. Without the lions, there would be no Arus. He knew that in the very core of his soul. "Okay. Come on. You can help me search," he said, giving her a final gentle squeeze and letting go of her.

"Where are the others?" she asked, following him down the hallway.

"Looking," he said. He thought about mentioning the tomb to her, but thought better of it. It still disturbed him how she would randomly disappear for a time, but he didn't want to question her about it. At least, not right now. No, now they needed to be looking for the missing keys. They headed into one of the office rooms, where Allura thought maybe Ganthor had conducted his business affairs, and started searching. Keith kept one eye on Sera, still not quite trusting the younger woman. He wanted to, and she had yet to do anything that really caused suspicion, but with Lotor's sister showing up and the lions non-functioning, he needed to be cautious.

Two hours later, they all reconvened in the kitchen. Keith watched Pidge go to Sera and hug her close, and again he hoped there wasn't anything to her disappearing acts. Pidge would be crushed if they were to find out she was a spy. The others were all quiet, disgruntled, and he finally said, "We'll find them. We know they're here, somewhere."

"But what if they're not _here_ , inside the castle? What if the Magicians put them somewhere else?" Lance asked. "It could take years to find them."

"Maybe Madi could figure that out," Hunk suggested. He was leaning back against one of the counters. "I mean, maybe she could use the magic to find them."

"Seems like if it were that easy, she'd have been able to do that by now," Sven said, shaking his head. He looked at Keith. "Lance is right – this could take years, or at least months, to find them. And we can't be left vulnerable that whole time. We've got to get our defenses up and running. Maybe we should leave the keys to the girls."

Keith knew Sven was right in his thinking, as was McClain. "Yeah, I agree with that." He looked at Sera. "Why don't you stay with Pidge, and you two go down to the hangar." When she nodded, he said to the others, "Sera said the lions sounded like they were in pain when she was down in the hangar, and that Onyx had kind of trashed it."

"What? Why?" Pidge asked, suddenly alarmed.

"He was thrashing around," Sera told him. "They're slowly dying."

"Hunk, Lance, Sven, get back to work on the defensive systems. Pidge, you and Sera go to the hangar and see what you can do there. I'll go to the command center and make sure there's nothing in our airspace," Keith directed. He didn't worry about Allura and Madi – he could feel, somehow, that they were safe in the tomb. As everyone headed out to do as he'd asked, he walked down the hall toward the control center, hoping that the two women were having some luck with the keys. It sounded like the lions were fading faster, and that couldn't be allowed to happen.


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own Voltron, or it's characters. Madi is mine though, so please don't borrow.

Here is the next chapter, where a certain pair of villains make their appearances :-)

CALL OF THE LIONS

SECRETS OF THE LIONS

CHAPTER THREE:

Allura stooped down next to one of the statues, intrigued by the intricate writing around its base. The words were faint, but she could still make them out: _Adore the magic. Protect the magic._ She smiled and got to her feet. Adoring her home world was already very easy for her to do, and she couldn't wait to get it back to its original glory. She saw Madi walking further back into the room, but didn't follow her. It was best if they explored on their own, so that nothing would go amiss. The seven statues varied in height, and each seemed to represent the seven explorers themselves. They were cool to the touch, and yet as her hand carefully touched each one, an almost-electric jolt traveled up her arm. It didn't hurt, and in fact, it felt almost comforting. _It's the magic flowing through them. Everything here is connected by magic._

The thought made her giddy with delight, and she inhaled a deep breath, feeling suddenly light-headed with emotion. As she made her way toward the statue that she thought might represent her long-lost relative, she noticed something in the base of it, and knelt down. When she touched the small rectangle, a strong shock shot up her arm, making her gasp, and she heard Madi call out to her. Tapping the small space on the base of the statue, Allura watched in amazement as a small box shot out of the base and landed at her feet.

"Allura? Are you okay?" Madi asked. Her voice was quiet.

"I-I'm fine," Allura murmured. She carefully picked up the box and held it up toward Madi. "I think this is what we're looking for."

Madi's hazel eyes widened, and she stared at the box. "Maybe you should open it."

Allura grinned and carefully slid the top of the box. She held her breath and peered into it. Inside, nestled on black satin, were five large ovals, each a different color. Allura smiled and gently touched the black key, which was the largest. A key suddenly appeared at the tip of the oval, and she grinned in triumph at Madi. "This is it – these are the keys!"

Madi's face lit up and she let out a resounding cheer. "Yes! Let's go show the guys."

Allura nodded and they turned and jogged toward the passageway leading from the tomb. By the time they cleared the stairs leading to the main part of the castle, they were running. They found the others in the kitchen, and Allura thrust the box out to Keith. "Look," she commanded, grinning.

He stared down into the box and lifted out the black oval, a smile splitting across his handsome face. "You found them," he breathed, and reached out to hug her to him with one arm.

"Awesome," Lance said, giving Madi a high-five. "Where were they?"

"In the base of the statue that I think is my ancestor," Allura said. Her face hurt from the huge grin she sported, but she couldn't stop smiling. "Let's go down to the hangar and try them out."

"The sooner the better," Keith said, nodding. "It sounds like they're about down for the count." He let go of Allura and handed her the box. "Come on."

"Where are Pidge and Sera?" Madi asked.

"In the hangar. Pidge didn't want the lions alone," Lance told her.

"This should cure them, right?" Hunk asked, glancing at Allura. "I mean, this is all they need, right? And they'll be able to fly?"

"I certainly hope so," Allura said, nodding. While the visions the amulet had given her had shown her many things, they hadn't shown her much about the magic flowing through Arus, or how to recover it. She was sure it was still here, just waiting for them to tap into it.

"What if it's not?" Hunk persisted. "I mean, what if they need something else, like more magic?"

"Then we'll figure that out," Keith told him, glancing at him. "Don't worry."

Hunk frowned but didn't say anything else. They made their way down to the hangar, Allura finding it very hard to go slow and be careful when all she wanted was to run to Cobalt and try the key. The hangar was dark and quiet when they entered, and Allura came to a sudden halt, a strange and powerful sense of fear sliding through her. She turned her head and saw that Madi had also stopped and stiffened.

"Allura? What is it?" Keith asked, turning to her. Immediately concern broke in his deep brown eyes. "Sweetheart?"

"Well, hello." The cold sultry voice came from behind Keith, and he spun around, his gun in his hand. Allura peeked around him and saw a beautiful, ethereal-looking woman, probably not much older than she was. She had gorgeous dark magenta hair, elven ears, and a face that would spur a world to war. She stood with one hand on her slim hip, and looked Keith and the others up and down. "So you are the ones who traveled here from Earth, who think this planet belongs to you now. Yes?"

"It does belong to us," Keith said. His voice was calm but steel wove through it. "And you are?"  
She smiled, and her eyes shot past him to Allura. "I am Queen Merla, of the Black Realm of Doom," she said. Her voice was calm. "And I believe you have something for me." Her gaze dropped to the box in Allura's hands, and suddenly Allura found herself _wanting_ to give the box to the Queen. She took a step forward, but Sven's hand caught her shoulder and held her still.

"You have no business being here," Keith said. "Leave this planet."

Merla smiled. "Not without those keys." She looked into Allura's eyes. "And you're going to give them to me, aren't you, my sweet child?"

Again Allura felt a strange compulsion to do as Merla asked, and tried to move forward, but Sven's strong hand on her shoulder held her in place. Merla frowned at Sven.

"You heard the Commander – get out of here," he told her, his voice sharp. He moved closer to Allura.

Merla's smile slid off her beautiful face and she narrowed her eyes. "So it will take some convincing, then." She made a motion with her right hand, and Sera stepped out of the shadows, one hand clamped around Pidge's wrist, her other gripping a gun. "Now give me the keys, or we will take your young teammate here with us," Merla said. Her voice was frosty.

Allura gave a shake of her head, trying to clear out the fog that seemed to be wafting through it. She watched Keith's broad shoulders stiffen with anger, and tried to get closer to him, but Sven held her close. When she looked up at him in irritation, he whispered down to her, "Just stay here."

"Now, Commander Kogane, you have but two choices. Let me leave with the keys, or I will leave with young Pidge here," Merla said.

"I'm not handing over the keys," Keith said, giving a firm shake of his head. "And I'm not letting you take Pidge, so I guess we better come up with a third choice."

Merla suddenly laughed. "Oh, I don't think that's going to be necessary." She made a strange motion with her hand, a sign of some kind, and Allura and Madi both screamed. They grabbed their heads and fell to their knees.

"What the hell? Madison!" Lance's cry mingled with those of the two women.

"Make it stop!" Keith ordered, half-turned toward Allura, who was crying in anguish, Sven on his knees next to her, trying to comfort her. "I said make it stop!" Keith raged, turning his attention back to Merla.

Allura's head felt like it was on fire, constant flames that threatened to explode from her eye sockets. All thoughts fled before the onslaught of tremendous pain, and she wondered if she were dying. She could feel someone's hands on her shoulders, shaking her, talking to her, and she tried to concentrate on that voice. She knew that voice. But the harder she tried to concentrate, the stronger the flames and pain became. She tried to think of Keith, but there was no image of him that she could find. _Keith, help me. Please, help!_ The thought exploded across her mind, and she fell, limp, to the floor of the hangar.

She wasn't sure how long she was out, but when she finally awoke, she was lying on her bed, and Keith was sitting next to her, his eyes riveted to her face. When she tried to talk, he quietly shushed her and leaned down, pressing his lips to hers gently for a moment. He pulled away and brushed some hair back from her face.

"How do you feel?" he asked, his voice soft but strained. "She really hurt you, didn't she?"

Allura nodded. Even now, she could still feel pain in her mind. "It was on fire," she whispered. When he gave her a questioning look, she added, "My mind. It was burning." She coughed a little, and he quickly offered her a glass of water.

"Slow," he warned, helping her sit up and holding the cup so she could drink. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I got her to stop as fast as I could."

"What happened? Is Pidge okay? Did she take the keys?" Panic filled her chest as she thought of someone hurting the young man. Even more than the keys, she hoped he was all right.

"He's fine," Keith said. He dropped his gaze from hers. "He's upset with Sera, of course. Both she and Merla are in the dungeon."

"The dungeon?" Allura frowned.

"I tackled Merla," he admitted. "I didn't know what else to do, and you were crying and in so much pain…I just reacted." He reached out and touched her face. "I knocked her out, and we put her and Sera in the dungeon."

"I just can't believe Sera would do this to us," Allura murmured. "I mean, she was with Coran."

Keith's face hardened. "Yeah, and maybe we shouldn't have trusted him, either." He sighed. "I don't know what to do with Merla. She told us she's very powerful, and we know she has some kind of mind control powers, from what she did to you and Madi."

"Is Madi okay?"

"Yeah. Lance has stayed with her," he said. "From what Merla said, she was supposed to marry Prince Lotor but refused, and now they're feuding."

"So maybe she's not as bad as we think, then," Allura said, her voice quiet.

"She tried to steal the keys, sweetie, and she hurt you." His voice burned with anger. "I don't care if she is fighting with Zarkon and Lotor – she's no friend to us."

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," she reminded him. "I know you learned that in the Marines."

"Yeah, I did – but this isn't the Marines, sweetheart. Those rules don't necessarily apply to our situation here, and I'm not about to trust Merla." He leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss. "When you feel up to it, we should get those keys in the lions, and see if that's what they needed."

"I feel fine now," she said, but knew that wasn't entirely the truth. Her mind was still glowing with the aftermath of the psychic attack, but she wanted to do something instead of lying here in bed. She started to get up and Keith caught her arm when she got dizzy.

"No, you're not fine," he chided her. "Just rest for a little more. I'll come check on you soon. I want to go down and make sure Merla and Sera are still in the cells."

"Okay," she agreed, frowning.

"Stay here," he said, and left.

Allura sighed and tried to rest, but her mind was on fire now, for a different reason. Why did Merla want the keys? Was she hoping to use the lions against Lotor? And why had Sera chosen to help her? Did the young woman have even deeper ulterior motives? With a groan she got up and headed out of the room, determined to get some answers. She met Sven in the hall, and he fell in-step beside her.

"You feel okay?" he asked, glancing at her.

"I'm fine," she told him, putting just enough tartness in her voice to warn him to back off.

"Keith tell you what happened?" he asked.

"He did," she said. "I'm surprised Sera would do that to us."

Sven growled something under his breath and Allura swatted his arm. "What? She's a traitor, Ally. And we need to get her and Merla off-world as soon as possible. I don't like them being down there."

"Well, we can't very well fly them off," she reminded him. "Did anyone try the keys yet?"  
"No. Keith wanted to wait for you," he said.

Allura started to speak but a loud rumble overhead drowned out her voice, and she and Sven shared a quick look of panic before sprinting toward the foyer. Hunk and Lance were already there, and the four of them ran outside, scanning the sky above for any hint as to the threat.

"There!" Hunk called, pointing out toward the right, and they saw a sleek black ship circling overhead, its thrusters glowing red with heat. As they watched, it began a downward tight spiral, and Lance let out a low whistle.

"Don't know who that is, but the pilot is good," he said. "Damn good."

"Who care about that," Sven growled. "We need those lions up and running."

"Where are the keys?" Allura asked. "I can go down and try Cobalt." Over the last month, before the big mechas had fallen silent, she and the blue lion had gotten closer, and she liked to think that Cobalt would choose her as her pilot.

"Keith has them," Lance said. "But it'd be worth a shot." He glanced at Sven. "I'll go get 'em."

"Take Allura with you," Sven ordered, and Lance reached out and snagged Allura's hand, dragging her back toward the castle.

"Lance—"

"Come on," he said and gave another hard tug. "You need to get the keys and see if the lions will respond." He didn't give her any time to refuse – he was moving too fast and she was running to catch up. Keith and Pidge met them at the huge doors, and Keith hugged her tight to him. "Man, give her the keys so she can get the lions up and running," Lance demanded.

Keith shook his head. "I don't have them on me – they're in the control room." He took Allura's hand. "We'll go grab them and take them to the hangar. I want you, Hunk, and Sven at the gun stations. We don't know who this is, and considering we have a queen locked up in the dungeon, that ship's probably not a friendly. Go."

Lance nodded and took off, and Keith led Allura at a run toward the control room. Her heart was pounding, but not because of the exercise – she was eager to see if the keys would indeed unlock all the lions' magical capabilities. If so, the ship out there in their air space wouldn't stand a chance. She just knew it. They entered the control room and Keith got the box out of the closet he'd put it in, thrusting it into her hands. "Come on," he urged and they took off again, and she knew he was as eager as she was.

The ship was hovering above the castle, but they didn't spare so much as a second glance at it, not when they needed to get the keys to the lions. Onyx was still lying in the hangar, and Keith took his key and clambered up the side of the massive cat and into the cockpit. Allura held her breath, unable to tear her eyes from the huge mecha. If the keys didn't work, then finding them had been for naught. It was quiet in the hangar; they were far enough from the castle that she couldn't hear the whine of the spacecraft above it.

There was a soft whirring sound, and she saw a distinct tremble race through Onyx's giant body. His black eyes flashed once, twice, and with a groan of metal on metal, he pushed himself upright and stood. He swung his head to look at her, and she grinned up at him.

"So good to have you back, big guy," she said. He let out a muted roar and started to turn. She gave him plenty of space, excited to see him in action again.

"Allura." Keith's voice echoed down from the cockpit. "See if one of the other ones will accept you."

"Okay," she yelled up to him and ran out of the hangar, to the place around the rock outcropping where the other four had been lying down. She hurried to Cobalt and climbed up into the cockpit. Taking the blue oval out of the box, she waited for the key to appear and inserted it into the slot near the main controls. "Come on, girl. Wake up," she said. The lights on the main panel lit up, and there was a lurch as Cobalt got to her feet. "That's it, girl. Nice and slow," Allura crooned, sitting in the pilot chair and setting her hands gently on the controls. She'd been in the cockpit of all the lions, but this one seemed to fit her the most, and she hoped that the blue lion would accept her as pilot.

"Allura, you in yet?" Keith asked through the communications channel.

"I'm in. Cobalt's starting to wake up," she said.

"Good. That ship's about to land," Keith said, and there was anxiety mixed with calm in his voice. "We need to get up there."

"Go. We'll follow," she said. Cobalt gave a shake, and she nearly fell out of the chair. "Easy, girl. Come on. We've got work to do." The big cat jumped forward, and threw Allura up against the controls. She set herself back in the chair and frowned. Did Cobalt not want her as pilot? She could see outside via the view screen, and saw Onyx go racing toward the castle. "Let's go," she commanded, but the lion shook again and gave an awkward jump sideways. "Look, we don't have time for this. I chose you to fight with, so let's get on with it," she ordered. If Cobalt rejected her later, that was fine, but their home was in jeopardy. She didn't have time to choose another lion.

 _ **PRINCESS NOT FIGHT.**_

The words sizzled like lightning through her mind, and Allura scowled. _Yes, I am,_ she thought back to the lion. _Now move it._ Cobalt let out a growl but took a giant leap forward. Allura gripped the controls and held on as the big lion leapt forward into a jarring run. They certainly weren't the smoothest rides, she thought, but she was amazed at the raw power. Cobalt ran up the cliff and joined Onyx, the two lions facing the sleek ship that had come to rest in front of the castle.

"Allura, you okay in there?"

Keith's sweet concern was appreciated, but she had other things on her mind, like the lions not wanting her to fight. "I'm fine, Keith. What do we do?" she asked.

"Let's wait and see if anyone gets out," he said.

It was two agonizing minutes before a ramp came down from the black ship, and a group of armed guards got off, each one carrying an impressive-looking gun. Before either of them could comment, a man strode down the ramp. He was tall – taller than Keith, and had light blue skin and long flowing white hair that hung past his shoulders. His physique was very nice, and even from this distance, Allura could see the amber of his eyes as they focused on the two mecha.

"Keith?"

"I'll talk to him," he said, his voice terse. "This has to be Lotor."

"I think so, too," she said. She watched Onyx walk closer, saw the blue-skinned man straighten, his expression becoming one of delight.

"Who are you?" Keith's voice boomed out of the external speakers set in the black lion's head.

The man grinned. "I am Prince Lotor, of the Doom Empire," he called out. "And I'm glad to see you found the keys to the lions." He spoke in a jovial tone that set Allura's teeth on edge.

"Leave our planet," Keith ordered.

Lotor's grin vanished. "You have no right to order me around," he said. "I am here to take back Queen Merla, whom you have captured."

Allura's gut twisted. How had Lotor known that? Merla herself had told Keith she and Lotor weren't getting along. "She's not yours to take," she said, and flinched when Lotor looked her way.

"A female pilot? This is unheard of for the lions," Lotor said. He took a step toward Cobalt, which Onyx quickly blocked.

"Get off our planet," Keith ordered. "Or we will force you to leave."

Lotor laughed. "I'd like to see that. And who are you, now that you know who I am?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Keith Kogane," Keith said. His voice had grown colder, calmer, and Allura knew from listening to him that things were about to get ugly.

"And you, dear woman?" Lotor asked, a hint of humor in his voice.

"Allura, don't—"

"Major Allura Castle," she said, and added, "And also the princess to the throne of Arus." She heard Keith groan over the communications channel and ignored him. She wanted Lotor to know that the rightful rulers were here now, and that Arus was no longer his to own.

Lotor's amber eyes widened before narrowing. "Princess Allura. How nice to have the royal family on the planet again." He took another step closer to the lions. "But this planet belongs to the Drule Empire. We will rid it of you if you force our hand."

"Then try it," Keith said. Gone was any civility in his voice. Onyx let out a low growl. "Go now, before we take you as prisoner as well."

"You really think you could defeat me with two lions?" Lotor asked, laughing. "I demand Merla be released to me."

"Damn it. I'm over this," Keith snarled over the comm channel. "Lance, give him a shot over the ship."

"Roger." Lance's voice was cool and a moment later an arc of light shot out from the upper turrets on the castle.

Lotor's eyes narrowed to slits. "So you've chosen to defy me. Very good. I like a fight," he said. He turned and motioned to his guards. "We will take Merla back with force then." They disappeared into the ship, and Allura took a deep breath.

"Keith, what do we do? We don't know if the lions are strong enough to fight," she said.

"Onyx and I can take that ship down if we have to," he told her. "Trust me."

"I do," she said, and inhaled a deep breath. Lotor's ship was moving, beginning to rise.

"Keith?" Lance said. "You want him on the ground?"

"No. Let him go. If he makes a move, Onyx and I will take him," Keith said. The black lion was at-attention, his nose pointed high as he watched the black ship rising ever higher.

Allura's heart beat faster and harder. She could feel a tremble go through Cobalt, and wondered if, it came down to fighting, the blue lion would bond with her long enough to join in. So far she hadn't felt anything happening, and it made her a little mad. She was of the royal bloodline – this was her birthright, to fly and fight with the lions. The black ship hovered over the castle, and she forgot to breathe. Another tremble went through Cobalt.

And then the ship was gone. It accelerated so fast that in the blink of her blue eye, it had disappeared. Cobalt let out a low growl and suddenly pitched her head forward, unseating Allura again.

 _ **OUT.**_

 _All right, all right,_ Allura thought, now very upset. She climbed down out of the cockpit and turned toward Onyx. She didn't see Keith, and figured he was still inside the massive lion. "Thanks a lot for nothing," she murmured to Cobalt. The lion twitched her left ear at her. "You heard me. Why didn't you bond with me?"

 _ **PRINCESS NOT FIGHT.**_

 _I can, and I will, Cobalt_. She wasn't about to be bossed around by the mecha, although even Lotor had seemed very surprised by her being in the lion. _Apparently the royals didn't do their own fighting. Well, this royal plans on kicking ass._ With a toss of her head, Allura started walking toward Onyx. Cobalt growled at her, but Allura didn't care. If the blue lion wanted to be like that, so be it. There were still two other lions who had yet to bond with a pilot, and she wasn't even sure if Jade had with Pidge.

Keith was just getting out, and she watched him climb down to the ground and pat Onyx on the paw. He turned to face her, and a concerned frown broke over his face. "What's wrong? Did she hurt you?" he asked, reaching out to hug her close for a moment.

"No," Allura said, shaking her head. "But we didn't bond, and she told me the princess shouldn't fight." She couldn't help the hurt in her voice.

Keith tipped her chin up. "It's been a long time since they've had to bond with a pilot, honey. Give her a chance. You said before that you felt like you were connecting with her. And Onyx still asks me to get out right after the fight is over. They're just not used to someone being in there."

"I guess." She knew she shouldn't feel this way, but it still stung.

"You two all right?" Sven was approaching with Pidge and Hunk.

"Yeah, we're fine," Keith said. "But he'll be back, so we better be ready. He wants us to turn Merla over to him."

"Why, I wonder? She said they're feuding," Sven said, frowning. "Ally, are you sure you're okay? That was your first time in one of the lions."

"I'm okay," she assured him, and pushed down her feelings of irritation with Cobalt. Everything Keith had said was true, and it would take time to get the lions' full trust.

"Where are Lance and Madi?" Keith asked.

Sven shrugged. "I'm assuming he's checking on her. She's still out from earlier."

Keith frowned and ran a hand over his hair. "Hopefully she wakes up soon – we need the lions running before Lotor comes back."

"I'm sure she will – we know Lance will take excellent care of her," Allura said. "Should we go down and put the keys in the other lions?"

"Sounds like a plan for now," Keith said, and added, "Hunk, Sven, you two monitor the command center's radar. I want to know when or if he comes back." He held his hand out to Allura. "The two of us and Pidge will go work on the lions."

"All right," Sven said, and he and Hunk headed back toward the castle.

Allura followed along behind Keith and Pidge, still feeling pensive over Cobalt's actions toward her. She decided not to worry about it, but it was hard for her when she wanted so badly to be bonded to one of the lions. As they walked past Cobalt, the blue lion merely blinked one enormous yellow eye at her, but said nothing. Allura patted her paw and pushed down her feelings of inadequacy. They had work to do, and probably not a lot of time to do it.


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own Voltron or its characters.

Thank you for the reviews so far.

CALL OF THE LIONS

SECRETS OF THE LIONS

CHAPTER FOUR:

Keith watched as Pidge carefully inserted the key into Jade's console, and smiled when the younger's man face lit when the green lion shivered and got to her feet. It was good to have the lions coming back on-line, especially since they didn't know when Lotor would strike again.

"How ya feel, big girl?" Pidge asked, setting his hand lightly on the control panel. Jade made a growling sound in her throat, and he grinned. Looking up at Keith, he said, "She's feeling fine now."

"Good." Keith turned to Allura. "Okay, let's get Flax going, and then we'll do Garnet last."

"Right." Allura turned to go, and Keith rested his hand on Pidge's shoulder.

"Good job. Stay with her for a little bit and make sure she's doing okay," he said. Pidge nodded, and Keith followed Allura out of the cockpit. Flax and Garnet were laying side-by-side, and they headed to the big yellow lion. Allura climbed up to the cockpit, and Keith followed, knowing she was quiet because she was upset. He'd learned, over the many years they'd spent together growing up, that his girl got more and more quiet the more upset she was. When they entered the cockpit, he reached out and tugged on her arm, turning her to face him.

"I know this is hurting you, love," he said quietly, "the way Cobalt is rejecting you. I understand that. But like I said, just give her time. From what Lotor said, it sounds like women were never allowed to fly the lions. That's probably why she didn't bond with you."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?" she snapped. When he flinched, she sighed and added, "I'm sorry. I know that, but it doesn't make it any easier. I'm a good pilot. I've done combat time. I could handle flying her into combat."

"I know you could." He smiled and leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead. "Let's get the other two up and running. Maybe Flax or Garnet will have different opinions of you."

"Maybe." She didn't sound overly-confident, but she did give him a small smile before turning to Flax's control console. Slipping the key into the slot, she waited, and Keith held his breath. He wanted all of the lions on-line, and hoped the last two would respond to their keys as well as the first three had. Flax shuddered once, yawned, and got to his feet, and Allura grinned at Keith over her shoulder. "So far so good," she said.

"You stay with him. I'll go get Garnet," he told her. She nodded and turned back to the console, and he left the cockpit and climbed down, jogging over to Garnet. The red lion had been one of the first to begin fading, and he hoped she'd be able to come out of it. Sliding her key into its slot, he waited. A minute later, with no response from her, he sighed. _Maybe it was too good to be true,_ he mused. And without red up and running, there would be no Voltron. "Come on," he muttered, taking the key out and inserting it again.

"Keith? Everything okay?" Allura joined him in the cockpit. "Flax and Jade are good to go."

"I've got nothing," he said, sighing and running a hand through his shaggy black hair. "Any ideas?"

"No, not really." Allura bent to touch a couple of controls on the panel, and frowned at him. "Maybe Madi would."

"Then we need to get her down here." He realized he sounded like a broken record, wanting all the lions running, but truth be told, having Lotor actually set foot on Arus, and right in front of them and not acting challenged by them, had sobered him to their reality: they weren't ready to fight or defend their planet. Without the lions operational, and that included having chosen their pilots, they had nothing. And now Lotor knew that. _And I've got a traitor and a crazy witch down in the dungeon that I don't know what to do with._

"Hey." Allura touched his cheek. "It's going to be okay. You and I are tough, and so is our team. We'll figure things out, get ready to fight Lotor when he comes back." She met his eyes. "Because we both know he's coming back. He's angry that we're here."

"I know he is." He hugged her to him. "We made the decision to stay, and we need to defend our home, no matter what it takes." The hard-core Marine in him would never let him give up, not without the best fight he could give. "We need to regroup, get the others, and get them to work with the lions. The lions have to choose their pilots now. We can't afford to wait any longer."

"I agree." She nodded and stepped back. "And we've got to get our comms up and running, too. We need to be able to talk to each other without having to go find one another. That takes too long."

"So let's go." She took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He let her lead him out of the cockpit and together they climbed down and started toward the trail that led back up to the castle.

They found everyone in the control room, and they looked tense and unhappy. Keith frowned and said, "What's up?"

"Trouble," Sven said, nodding toward the radar. "Four ships out there, and they aren't responding to us. We don't know if it's Lotor; it could be his sister, but either way, we're not in any shape to fight."

"I know." Keith turned to Allura. "We've to go back to the lions and get them ready to go." He looked at Madison. "Garnet didn't respond to her key. You have any idea why?"

Madi frowned and said, "Well, I know that Garnet and Jade are the two lions that form the Blazing Sword, Voltron's main energy weapon. Maybe she's the main catalyst for it, and so needs something else magical to keep her running."

"That would make sense," Sven said, nodding. "But how do we know what else she needs?"

"Nothing in those journals about that?" Keith asked her.

"No," Madi said. "I mean, I'm just guessing here. It could be she's just drained more or something. Did you leave the key in?"

"We did," Allura confirmed. "Keith's right – we need to have everyone interact with the lions, and see who they accept as their pilots."

"What about the radar?" Hunk asked.

"Doesn't matter – without the lions we're sunk anyway," Keith told him. He turned away and headed back out of the control room. _We need the lions now more than ever before. Onyx, please tell me they're ready to choose new pilots._ He waited for a minute, but Onyx remained silent on the subject, and Keith began wishing, not for the first time, that the lions were simply mechanical creatures and not endowed with magic. By the time they all reached the lions, Onyx still hadn't spoken to him, and he realized he wasn't going to.

"Okay, let's start with Cobalt," he said. The black and blue lions had joined the other three, and Keith cast an irritated glance at Garnet, upset that she had refused to accept the key.

"Allura? You piloted her," Hunk said, gesturing at the blue lion.

She shook her head. "She rejected me," she said, and Keith was proud of her even tone. He knew it hurt that she'd been turned away as pilot, but he hoped either Flax or Garnet would allow her to fly them.

"Madi? You're the Magician," Lance said, looking at her.

"I can try," she said, looking at Allura and Keith. "I don't know if it's my place, though."

"Go ahead," Allura told her. Madi nodded and turned to climb up into Cobalt's cockpit, but the blue lion growled and bared her teeth. Madi stood her ground, even as Lance moved to protect her.

"What the hell, Cobalt?" he snarled. "Be nice."

"No, it's okay," Madi said, shaking her head. She sounded disappointed. "She doesn't want me." She tilted her head a little, studying the lion who was currently glaring at her. "She doesn't want the Magician flying her."

"She told you that?" Hunk asked, frowning.

"Not in so many words," Madi said, her voice dry. "She said 'no.'"

"Sven, Hunk, Lance," Keith said, gesturing at Cobalt. "Give it a go. She has to take one of you."

Hunk approached first, and Cobalt pinned her ears and snarled. He stopped dead in his tracks and shrugged. "Nope, not me," he said. "Lance?"

"Cranky old lion," Lance growled under his breath as he made his way toward her. Cobalt snapped at him. "Well, damn. Not me, either. Sven, you must be it."

"Yeah, thanks," Sven said, shaking his head. He quietly approached the lion, and she blinked her huge eyes at him. "Easy, now," Sven told her and put his hand on her paw. She growled a little, but then closed her eyes and went silent. He glanced at Keith. "Want me to try it?"  
"Yes. You're the only one she hasn't been overly-aggressive with," Keith told him. He watched Sven climb up, and waited with cautious optimism. Cobalt needed a pilot, and she'd rejected everyone else. Sven gave a thumbs-up through the small window in the cockpit, and then climbed back down.

"Well, she didn't kick me out, so we must be good to go," he said. A small grin flitted over his handsome face. "Gotta admit, I'm pretty happy with that."

Keith nodded, happy for him, but also anxious to get the other lions set up with their pilots. "Okay, so one more down, two to go." They moved to the last two lions, and Keith was disconcerted to see that Garnet hadn't yet come around. "Madi, see what you can do with Garnet, please, while the rest of us work with Flax."

"Okay," she said and climbed up into the red lion's cockpit.

"Lance?" Keith pointed at the yellow lion. As much as he still hated to admit it, the hot shot Air Force pilot should be a natural choice for one of the lions. He was just glad the flyboy hadn't been Onyx's choice.

Lance walked up to Flax, and, getting no adverse reaction from him, started to climb up. Flax suddenly shook hard, knocking Lance off. He hit the ground hard and Sven gave him a hand up, trying not to laugh. "Damn it," Lance muttered.

"I got this," Hunk said and touched Flax's side. "You and I are two of a kind, old boy," he said, his tone jovial. "We both like to have some lazy time, huh?" Flax proceeded to make a rumble that sounded suspiciously like a meow, and Hunk grinned in triumph. "Don't even need to get into the 'pit," he said proudly.

Keith let out a slow breath. "Just Garnet, then," he said. They approached the red lion, and he called up, "Any luck?"

"No," Madi hollered down. She stuck her head out the small window. "Not sure what to tell you, just that the key's not enough power for her."

"So without her awake, we don't know what pilot she'll choose," Lance said, and casually leaned against the giant paw. "I gotta say, that's not—" He broke off as the big red mecha suddenly lurched to her feet and bowed her head down to him. He touched her nose and looked up at Madi, who was grinning at him through the window.

"You must be the last of the magic she needs," she said.

"Awesomeness," he told her, his face creased with a huge grin. Garnet flashed her eyes once, and he scowled. "Hey, now, none of that," he chided the big lion. He looked at Keith. "She told me I have things to learn."

"I'm sure you do," Keith said, nodding. "We all do. None of us have ever flown anything like this, and some of us have never flown period. But we need to get started, because I have the feeling those ships are Lotor's, and he's coming for Merla."

He saw Allura staring at the ground, and his heart went out to her. It was obvious the lions held to no women flying them, and he didn't think that was fair. But he also had no time to argue in her defense, either. "All right, saddle up. Let's go out in the open so we can put them through their paces and get used to them."

The other men turned away to go to their lions, and he moved to Allura's side for a moment. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I really thought one of them would—"

"Keith, its fine. It's tradition," she murmured. "Go."

He wondered if one of the lions had told her that, but didn't pursue it. She was right – he had to go. He got into Onyx's cockpit and touched the controls. "All right, big guy. We've got the whole team now – let's learn to form Voltron." The black lion leapt forward, and again Keith was thrilled with the raw power. It was like nothing he'd ever felt before. "Can everyone hear me?" he asked. "Everyone all right so far?"

"Are you freaking kidding us?" Lance said, and the excitement in his voice made Keith grin. "Hell yeah, we're okay!"

"All right, down to business then. We need to know the lions inside and out if we're going to have any chance at defeating Lotor," Keith said, trying to rein in his own enthusiasm.

"So what's the plan, boss man?" Hunk asked. "How do we bond with the lions?"

"It happened while we were fighting the robeast," Pidge told him.

Keith watched as Garnet took off on a dead run, and for a split second, he panicked, thinking she'd taken over control. But from the yell Lance gave, he'd allowed her to do it. "Yeah, I'm not sure, actually. I just know we need to figure out how to form Voltron."

"Guys?" Allura's voice came over their comms. "Those ships are moving in."

"We better get going, then," Sven said. He sounded a little terse, and Keith wondered if Cobalt was giving him problems.

"Everything all right with you two?" he asked.

"I got this," Sven muttered over the comm.

Keith wanted to say more, but let it drop – he had his own business to worry about. He could the ships on Onyx's radar, and they looked ominous. _Definitely warships,_ he thought. _Don't let me down, Onyx – we need you and the others right now._ The black lion remained quiet, but Keith didn't worry about it. He knew the lion was on his game – he could feel the power flowing through the giant mecha, and it encouraged him. He hoped the others, even the three who hadn't yet been bonded, could feel the power too.

The warships soon appeared over the castle, and two broke off and started circling out beyond the lions. Keith was more worried about them than the two who remained hovering over the castle. It was more likely that the two on the outskirts would be the ones starting trouble. Onyx growled and swept his ears back, and Keith's mind was suddenly flooded with a flash of imagery – the Castle of Lions being strafed by ships, people fleeing from the castle, people being mowed down by the enemy firepower. He blinked hard and the images faded. His chest hurt with the knowledge that his people had been hurt like that, and a swell of anger filled his chest, pushing out the hurt.

"Keith?" Allura's voice was tentative on the comm link. "What are your orders?"

"We hold," he said, his voice sharp. "Let them decide the first move."

A minute later, the first move was decided. The two circling warships opened fire on the lions. Onyx let out a loud roar and jumped forward, pushing into a run. Keith held steady on the controls, watching as they ran directly into the path of fire. The huge black lion rose onto his hind legs and swatted at the first ship, but it was out-of-range. _Onyx, you have to fly. We have to take these ships down!_ A tremendous tremble went through the lion's body, and he reared back on his hind legs and gave a mighty surge upward. Keith held his breath, and let out a yell of excitement when he found himself running through the air, Onyx snarling and snapping at the closer ship.

"Way to go, boss!" Hunk yelled.

Keith saw Flax coming from the left, and the yellow lion pounced on the ship and tore a chunk out of its skin with his razor-sharp teeth. The ship began smoking, and started a lazy path toward the ground. _Weapons, Onyx. What do you have?_

 **WEAPONS ON-LINE.  
**

The words flooded Keith's mind seconds before he envisioned a huge knife, and then the knife was in the black lion's mouth, and Onyx cut the ship in two with it. The pieces of the wreckage fell burning to the ground, and elation swept through him. _One down, big fella._ He turned the lion toward the second ship in time to watch Garnet and Jade take it apart, and he heard his fellow teammates whooping and yelling with excitement. Keith grinned. Never had he felt anything like this, so interconnected and powerful. The lions really were amazing.

"Keith!" Allura's cry came seconds before he saw the two ships over the castle taking off, and he spun Onyx around, determined to take the ships down. He wanted to send a very loud and clear message to Lotor and anyone else who thought they could take Arus: they were wrong.

"Take those ships down," he ordered over the comm, and rammed the throttles forward. It was an odd combination of his piloting and Onyx's own sentience that drove the mecha, and Keith wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to figure it out, or if it even mattered. He watched Cobalt slice through the bigger ship with her claws, saw Garnet pounce on the smaller one and rip a huge hole in it. By the time he and Onyx arrived, both ships had fallen, twisted into metal wreckage that was smoldering. He waited for Onyx to tell him to get out, but the lion was quiet, and he wondered if he'd been fully-accepted now as pilot.

"Check the ships over before you dismount – I want to make sure those ships are completely off-line," Keith ordered. Onyx prowled around the two closest ones, nose to the ground. There didn't seem to be anyone moving around inside, and Keith let out a slow breath, feeling the adrenaline fade from his bloodstream. It hadn't really been a battle – he supposed they'd taken the ships by complete surprise. Lotor's retaliation was likely to be swift, and they'd have to figure out how to form Voltron. He'd been hoping Onyx would give him a vision as to how that all worked, but so far the massive lion had been silent on that aspect of fighting.

"Looks clear, Cap," Lance called over the com.

"I agree," Sven said. He sounded less strained, and Keith hoped his friend was able to communicate well with Cobalt. Of all the lions, she was by far the most ornery.

"Hunk, Pidge, stay in your lions. Lance, Sven, you're with me. We'll check out the wreckage on foot," Keith ordered. Onyx lowered his head, and Keith made his way down to the ground, pulling his gun as he went. He met the other two, and together they approached the two ships that had gone down closest to the castle. "Stay sharp," he said, already knowing the command was moot – of course they would. The ships were huge, and they were careful as they made their way around the hulking, burning masses. So far they'd seen nothing of life, but he was still on high-alert, still on-point. He couldn't help it; his sniper training in the Marines had stressed the finer points of staying on top of things, of being constantly aware of his surroundings.

"Got something," Sven called, and Keith and Lance made their way over to him. A form lay on the ground, half-burned and twitching.

"Damn," Lance swore, "put him out of his misery already!" He raised his gun, but Sven waved him off.

"Take a closer look," he said, nodding toward the person.

Keith bent down, moving closer, and said, "It's a robot!"

"Yeah." Sven reached out with his boot and kicked it. The machine jerked and twitched some more, and something looking suspiciously like acid ran from its mouth.

"That's disturbing," Lance said, stepping back. "So this mighty prince doesn't even have a real army, just a bunch of machines?"

"They're dispensable," Keith said, nodding as he straightened up. "He probably has a million of them, and losing a few now and then doesn't matter."

"You know he's going to be coming back," Sven said, crossing his arms over his chest. "We need to figure out how to form Voltron."

"I know. And we will. But let's just take a moment and be happy about this, about piloting the lions," Keith said, a slow grin wending its way over his face. He ran his hands through his hair.

"That was freaking awesome," Lance said, nodding. He glanced toward the castle. "Think the girls are okay?"

"Yes," Keith said, nodding. He had decided it was time to quit worrying so much about them – Allura and Madi had proven themselves many times over in the time they'd been here. For right now, at least this very instant, he intended to be happy with what they'd accomplished.


	5. Chapter 5

I don't own Voltron or its characters.

Thank you all for the reviews and follows, and favorites. Hopefully this story is rolling well-enough now to color you all intrigued :-)

CALL OF THE LIONS

SECRETS OF THE LIONS

CHAPTER FIVE:

Allura smiled to herself as she listened to the men talking about the battle earlier that day against Lotor's robot forces. While they still weren't sure it had been Lotor who'd sent them, it was their best guess. She listened to Lance regaling Madi with how alive he'd felt when Garnet had torn through one of the ships, and wished that she'd been able to fly one of the lions. It was only natural the lions had rejected her, based on the previous history of the planet, but this was a new time, a new era, and she wanted so badly to feel what the guys had felt. She caught Madi's eye, and realized her friend was genuinely happy for the men, whereas she herself wasn't. Oh, she was glad they'd won, but deep down, the disappointment was festering. How much longer could she fake excitement for them?

"So who wants to feed our prisoners?" Lance asked, glancing around the table. Pidge studiously avoided his gaze, and Allura's heart went out to him. He hadn't once spoken about Sera since her betrayal, and he had to be stricken with pain. Yet he managed to remain calm while they talked about Merla and Sera.

"Not me. That witch has mind powers," Hunk said, shaking his head.

"I'll do it," Allura volunteered. She was eager to get away from the table.

Keith glanced at her, and she expected him to say no, but to her surprise, he nodded. "Go ahead. Just be careful around her."

"Okay." She got up and got together two bowls of the soup Hunk had made earlier, got spoons, and left the kitchen. She wondered if anyone would follow her, but realized that Madi was still caught up in Lance's tales, and probably wouldn't leave. It was just as well, because she was irritable and feeling left out of something that she knew had been a great experience. _I know I shouldn't feel this way, but I really can't help it, not right at this moment._ No, what she wanted to do was sulk. As she made her way carefully down the stairs to the dungeon, she shivered, wondering if Merla would try her mind control on her again.

The queen turned and smiled at Allura as she approached the cell, and Allura kept a neutral look on her face, not wanting to encourage any kind of response from the woman. Sera sat in the back of the cell, ignoring Allura as she walked up to the door.

"Hello, darling," Merla said. "You look well."

"No thanks to you," Allura said, shaking her head. She opened a small door within the larger one, and handed the bowls to Merla, who gave an appreciative sniff.

"Smells wonderful," she said. "And you should know – I would never truly hurt you. I only wanted to borrow the lions."

"Yeah? Did you tell that to my boyfriend when he tackled you to the ground?" Allura asked, her voice hot.

Merla's smile faded. "That was unnecessary. There wasn't permanent damage to either you or the Magician."

"There could've been," Allura said. She couldn't help the hostile tone; even though she wasn't truly angry with Merla, her feelings of inadequacy with the lions were forcing her to lash out.

Merla turned and handed one of the bowls to Sera, who seemed to be reluctant to take it. "And you," Allura said, pointing at the younger woman, "broke Pidge's heart. I hope being a traitor is worth it."

Sera opened her mouth but seemed unable to speak, and turned away to face the corner. Merla gave her a pitying look and moved closer to the bars separating her and Allura.

"Don't be angry with the child. She was in a very bad situation, and I offered a way to get out of it," Merla said, her tone softening.

"Really? And how bad could her situation be?" Allura was holding onto her anger, and she started to turn away, but the soft sobs coming from within the cell staid her footsteps. She turned back and saw Sera sitting on the stone bench, her head in her hands. Tears were dripping to the floor. A twinge of guilt shot through Allura's body; she hadn't meant to make Sera cry. The girl had been with them here almost from the start, and she'd been a welcome addition to their group.

Merla shot Allura a dirty look before going over to sit next to Sera and wrap an arm around her. "She is an Arusian, the same as you, darling. But she was born into captivity on Planet Doom, where Zarkon sits on the throne." Disgust filled her voice at the mention of the Drule king. "He is an abomination, a holy terror, and Lotor is going to be much, much worse. I rescued Sera and asked for her help in an operation of mine."

"Spying on Arus?" Allura asked. She was finding herself intrigued and trying not to be.

"Yes, as a matter of fact. You see, Voltron is the only creature that Zarkon fears. Lotor fears nothing at the moment. I wanted to take the lions and use them against Planet Doom, and unseat Zarkon from the throne. But you refuse to help me, and—"

"We didn't refuse to help you," Allura cut in, her anger ramping up again. "You tried to take the lions by forcing our hand. That's not the same thing as asking us for help."

"No, you're right – it's not. But you wouldn't have let me explain myself. You're too afraid now that everyone new you encounter is out to hurt you," Merla said. "You've met Romelle and her men. Do they strike you as being truthful? Trustworthy?"

"Romelle is," Allura said, nodding. She leaned on the bars of the door. "But why do you care what I think of her?"

Merla smiled and ran a hand over Sera's hair. "Because she can't be trusted, darling. She might come off as trustworthy, of telling you the truth. You really don't think she's stayed here all this time because they couldn't find a way off, do you? She's been waiting for your return, for the rise of the lions again. She too wishes to use them for her own benefit."

"You don't know that. There was no possible way for her to get off Arus," Allura said.

"She didn't tell you of the rescue ships I sent?" Merla frowned. "No, of course she wouldn't."

"Why would you have done that?"

"She and I were best friends, once upon a time," Merla said. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "It fell apart when my father helped Zarkon raze Pollux to the ground. I tried to get in touch with Romelle before Pollux fell, but I wasn't able to. It took me eight years to track her to Arus, and when I arrived with ships, she refused to leave, saying that she was waiting for someone to return to Arus and bring the lions back. At that point, I realized I, too, could use the strength of the lions to get rid of Zarkon." She spoke very quietly, reverently. She raised her stunning eyes to Allura's. "You don't even realize the power and magic they possess, darling. They can save our galaxy, the entire universe."

"But you're part of the Doom Empire," Allura said, shaking her head. "Even if I did you believe you, which I don't, why would you want to rid the galaxy of your home system?"

"I don't. I want to rid my system, and the galaxies, of Zarkon and Lotor." Merla's voice was hard. "Please, Princess, you must let me out. I am one of your best chances at defeating Lotor."

Allura straightened up and backed away from the door. "Planning to use mind control on me again?" She didn't want to think Merla would, but the evidence was to the contrary. She knew better.

"No." Merla got to her feet and approached. "But you know Lotor will be back for me. I'm betrothed to him, and though I am refusing to marry him, he wants me under his thumb, not roaming about. We heard the battle. He will be back for vengeance, and to retrieve me." Her shimmering topaz eyes were somber. "If you release me, I can help you against him."

"Allura?" Madi's voice came through the murkiness just before the pretty honey blonde stepped into the dungeon. "Is everything all right down here?" She walked over to the cell and frowned at Merla. "Allura?"

"I'm fine," Allura said, a bit more sharply then she'd meant to. Madi shot her a surprised look but didn't say anything. "Merla and I were just talking about Romelle."

"Romelle? What does she have to do with any of this?"

"Merla says she sent rescue ships to save Romelle and her people from Arus, but Romelle declined, saying she was waiting for the lions to rise up again." Allura couldn't help the vague sense of unrest the words stirred in her heart. "She and Romelle were best friends before Zarkon took Pollux."

"That's ridiculous," Madi said, shaking her head. "I've done my homework on Pollux, as much as was available. No one ever mentioned her being friends with a queen of darkness." Her voice was full of unbelief. "I wouldn't believe anything she says."

"I don't," Allura told her, but the seeds of doubt had been placed. Had Romelle really been unaware of what her men were doing, or had that all been an elaborate set-up? "Let's go." She turned from the cell, determined to get away from Merla and her twisted version of the truth.

"I know you're thinking about what I said, Allura," Merla called after her. "Remember what I said: don't trust Romelle."

Allura shook her head and left the dungeon. She climbed the stairs and waited for Madi, who was a minute or two behind her. They walked together toward the kitchen, and Madi finally huffed out a little sigh and said, "You don't really believe anything she said, do you? I mean, I don't think Romelle would give up the chance to be rescued. Her people mean a lot to her – everything, really."

Allura considered her friend's words, knowing they should mean a lot more than what Merla had said. Still, though, the queen's words rattled inside her head. "What if, just for kicks, Merla's right, though? I mean, what if Romelle and her men have just been waiting for us to find the keys so that they can try to steal the lions?"

Madi gave a quick shake of her head. "No. They can only be flown by the pilots they've bonded with. That much at least was in the journals."

"What about Voltron, though? Could just one of the pilots fly him?"

"That I don't know about," Madi said. She glanced at Allura as they walked down the hall. "Do you really think Merla could be telling the truth? Why did she want the lions so badly?"

"She wants to overthrow Zarkon and rid the galaxy of him and Lotor," Allura told her.

"And what about Zarkon's daughter? Genova?"

"Probably her, too. I'm sure she takes after her older brother," Allura said. "I honestly don't know what to think. I mean, we went out on a limb, trusting you, you know?" She glanced at her friend, and Madi immediately nodded.

"Yeah, you guys did," she said. "The guys aren't going to trust her, not after that stunt she pulled on you and me."

Allura had been thinking about that, and said, "But she could've done the same thing again, and she didn't. She's trusting us, in a way." She rubbed a hand across her forehead. "I know we have to tell the guys, though, whether or not they believe her."

"You're right," Madi said, though from her tone, Allura knew her friend had doubts.

They found the guys in the kitchen, cleaning up, and when Keith's eyes met Allura's, he frowned and walked over to her, pulling her into a hug. "You okay?" he whispered against her ear.

"I have something to tell all of you," she said. Keith pulled back and nodded, and whistled for the attention of the others.

"Go ahead, sweetheart," he murmured, crossing his arms over his chest and waiting.

Allura proceeded to tell the men about what Merla had told them, and watched their reactions carefully. Predictably, Hunk and Lance were shaking their heads and muttering to themselves, while Sven looked pensive. Pidge kept his eyes on the floor, and she could feel Keith's anger building as he studied her. "So," she added, "what do you guys think? Could Merla be telling the truth?"

"If she is, Romelle is a hell of an actress, then," Sven said, the first to speak.

"That's what I think," Lance said, nodding at him. "And wouldn't they both know the lions wouldn't work for anyone but their pilots?"

"Well, we think maybe Voltron could be operated with just one of the pilots," Allura said. "And if that's true, maybe Merla and Romelle hoped to talk one of the pilots into helping with their cause."

"I think the queen's a regular nut job," Hunk said. "I wouldn't believe anything she has to say."

"But can we afford to not believe her? I mean, we have no idea what Romelle and her men are up to down there," Madi said. She was standing next to Lance, and he had his hand on her shoulder.

"I think we need to pay Romelle another visit," Keith said. His tone was neutral, but Allura knew he was seething inside, angry that Merla was messing with them. "We'll go pay her a visit tomorrow. As for Merla, I'll be going down to talk to her, as well. Everyone else – stay away from her. We don't need her getting inside our heads."

"Are you saying she got inside ours?" Madi asked, her eyes narrowing. "Because we—"

"Easy, honey," Lance said, giving her shoulder a squeeze. "Kogane's right – that witch is just trying to drive a wedge between everyone."

Keith nodded. He looked at Allura, and she gave him an encouraging smile. He hadn't meant anything derogatory by his comment, and she knew that, even if it had set Madi off. Keith motioned to her, and she followed him out into the hallway and down to one of the two formal living areas. He turned to her and said, "What do _you_ think, sweetheart? I didn't mean to insult you and Madi, I just know that Merla could be playing mind games with us. And I'm not inclined to trust her, anyway, not after what she did to both of you." His voice was calm and level, but she detected the strain of anger weaving through it.

"I know that. And I know we probably shouldn't trust her, but what if, and it's a big if, she's telling the truth? We all know how nasty Zarkon is, what a monster he and his son are. Is it that impossible to believe that Merla really wants to work with us to rid the galaxy of them?" She was pacing, something she didn't do often, and tried to focus on him. He was watching her, those deep dark eyes somber with introspection and doubt.

"We'll talk to Romelle again, see if can pressure her into telling us the truth," he finally said. "But no one goes to see Merla but me from now on. Even if she's telling the truth, she still chose to hurt you, honey. I won't stand for that." He walked over and pulled her into a hug. "We'll figure this out, together."

"I know we will." She allowed herself to snuggle into his strong arms for only a few seconds, feeling like they were wasting some kind of precious time by standing there. He seemed to understand and easily let go of her, stepping back.

"We'll find time for this, too," he said. "For us."

"But this first," she said, her voice quiet.

"This first," he agreed, walking over to the doorway. "We'll talk to Romelle tomorrow. It's already been a long day, and I need to be on my mental best to deal with all this."

"Me too." She followed him back down toward the kitchen, hoping that they would get this matter resolved sooner rather than later.

She awoke later that night, drenched in sweat, gasping, panic filling her chest. She flipped on the light next to her bed and took in the mostly empty room. Trying to calm herself, and not aware of what had really awoken her, she got out of bed and made her way down the hall to the bathroom. Getting some water, she drank deeply and started back to her room.

"Princess Allura."

The voice was a whisper, but it was cold and hard and chilled her to the very small core of her soul. Turning around, she saw Prince Lotor standing there, and behind him, the witch Hagar who had broken into their home before. Allura took a deep breath.

"Get out," she ordered, trying to sound regal and commanding. Inside, she was shaking, but there was anger burning bright, too, burning through the layers of panic and fear. This was _her_ home, and he couldn't just invade it any time he wanted. "I said, get out."

His deep golden eyes twinkled harshly in the moonlight filtering through the windows. "I'm giving you a chance to leave Arus, Princess. This planet belongs to my family, to _me_. I will not stand for infidels living in the Castle of Lions." His voice was neutral; there was no hostility, but she imagined there would be in a few short seconds.

"I'm not leaving. This planet is my birthright, this castle my home," she told him. Lightning flashed through the window, making her jump.

"Is it the lightning, Princess, or me, that makes you tremble so?" Lotor asked. He walked toward her, and she scowled, hating his implications.

"Nothing about you would ever make me tremble," she said. Her voice was cold and angry.

He laughed then, a deep throaty sound that brought more chills to her body. "You are a fierce woman, young Princess Allura." His eyes sparkled with malice. "I could very much use a woman like you."

She shuddered despite herself, knowing exactly how he meant the word "use." Her shudder only caused him to laugh again, and she suddenly wished she wasn't wearing just a short T shirt and running shorts. Edging backward slightly, she saw his demeanor change.

"Don't run away, dear little princess," he sneered. One hand drifted down to touch the blaster at his side. "Though you are pretty, you are standing in my way, and I won't hesitate to kill you."

"You haven't killed me yet," she shot back, the words flying from her mouth before she could think them through.

His eyes narrowed to amber slits, and he drew the weapon. "Perhaps I have been blindsided by your banter," he told her. "No more." He raised the gun and took aim.

There was nowhere to go. He was only eight short feet from her, and she would never be able to move fast enough to avoid the blast. Screaming would be of little use, so she closed her eyes.

The shot came, but it went high and missed her, striking the ceiling. She gasped and her eyes flew open. Keith and Sven had interrupted them, and while Keith had hit the prince, Sven had managed to knock the blaster from his gloved hand. Her fright fled and she rushed to help.

"Stay back!" Keith yelled when he saw her. He was grappling with Lotor, who was heavier and taller, but not nearly as nimble. Keith had him in a headlock, but the prince twisted away, his sheer strength making him very hard to hold down.

"Knock it off!" Sven ordered, the blaster pointed at Lotor. "Get down on your—"

His words were broken when he slumped to the floor. Keith swore and tried to snatch up the blaster, but Lotor grabbed it first and kicked Keith in the chest, driving him backward. Lotor nodded to Allura.

"This is not yet finished, Princess Allura. I will return, and you will die." He stepped backward, and the witch moved to his side. They disappeared in a cloud of filmy, oily black smoke that caught in Allura's chest as she surged forward toward Keith. She choked on it as she tried to rouse him. He sat up and shook his head, coughing as he too drew the smoke into his lungs.

"It's okay," she said, trying to soothe him. He got to his feet and hugged her to him, fiercely, protectively.

"Did he hurt you?" he ground out between clenched teeth.

"No," she whispered, her body shaking. "Did he hurt you?"

"No." He let go of her and knelt by Sven, giving him a shake on the shoulder. "Sven. Wake up, buddy." When Sven remained unresponsive, he swore. "I'm getting tired of people just randomly breaking in," he said, his voice full of anger. "Sven, come on."

Sven moaned and sat up, blinking heavily. "What the hell happened? Where did Lotor go?"

"Gone," Keith bit out. He got to his feet and helped Sven to his, and then reached around Allura and held her snugged in tight to his side. "It's time to talk to Romelle and Merla both, and figure out how to keep Lotor and that witch of his out of here." He kissed Allura on the head. "Come on. Let's get the others up. The time for sleeping is over."


	6. Chapter 6

I don't own Voltron or its associated characters.

Here is the latest chapter; one word of caution: some of you aren't going to like what's going on here, but remember: I pledge to always keep Keith and Allura together throughout this series. And if Merla seems OOC, I do apologize - I've had very little interaction with her.

CALL OF THE LIONS

SECRETS OF THE LIONS

CHAPTER SIX:

Keith glanced at Sven as they opened the door to go down the stairs to the dungeon. "You sure you want to go down there?" he asked, his voice quiet.

Sven's jaw tightened as he looked at Keith. "Yeah, I'm sure. We need answers, Keith, and I don't think you should go down there alone."

"Okay." Keith took a breath and led the way down. He carried a flashlight, and shone it around inside the cell when they reached it. It took a few short seconds for his brain to register that no one was inside. "Son of a—"

"Keith." Sven's voice was sharp. "Take a look at this."

Keith walked over and shone his light where Sven was pointing. Burned into the wall were the words, "Until we meet again, Princess." Keith swore under his breath.

"You think Lotor did this?"

"Yeah, and he did it right under our damn noses." Keith turned. "Come on. We need to go talk to Romelle, find out if anything Merla told the girls is true." He couldn't believe Merla and Sera were gone. _Hagar must've gotten them out while Lotor was distracting us._ They sprinted up the stairs and ran to the kitchen, where the others were waiting.

"Damn, that was fast," Lance said, frowning. "What happened?"

"They're gone," Sven said. His voice was humming with fury. "Hagar must've sprung them."

"Then we need to talk to Romelle," Allura said. She looked at Keith. "You and I."

"No," he said. Before she could counter, he added, "All of us. I want a show of force."

"You think that's a good idea?" Lance asked. "I mean, she was pretty hot that we didn't trust her before. We all go down there, she's not gonna be happy."

"Who cares?"

They all turned to look at Pidge, who had been sullen and silent since Sera's betrayal had come to light. "What do we care if she's mad? She's on _our_ property, beneath _our_ castle. She doesn't get the right to be mad." His voice was cold and hard, and his eyes glittered behind his glasses.

Keith took a quietly deep breath. He knew he had to be careful; while he agreed with Pidge, he knew the younger man was lashing out due to his hurt feelings and his anger. He exchanged a look with Allura, and she walked over to Pidge and put her hand on his shoulder. He jerked away from her.

"Don't patronize me," he snarled. He turned his wrathful gaze on Keith. "You need to find out the truth about those women."

"We will," Keith said, nodding. "Come on. Everyone stay together. Weapons, but don't show them unless we have to."

Sven walked beside Keith and whispered, "You sure you want to do this? What if Pidge spouts off down there?"

"And so what if he does? Romelle needs to be clear and honest with us this time around," Keith whispered back. He knew it was risky, all of them going down together to talk to her, but they needed answers. Now that they had the keys to the lions, he didn't want her and her men suddenly showing up in the castle and trying to take charge of things. It was bad enough he had to deal with Lotor popping in and out along with Hagar. They made it almost all the way to where Romelle had met them the last time, and ran into four of her men, led by Adamo.

He held up an antiquated rifle. "Stop," he ordered. "Why are you here?" His eyes took in the whole group, and he scowled at Keith.

"We need to speak with Romelle," Keith told him. He was tense. Something about Adamo set him on edge, and he could feel Sven's tension as well.

Adamo spoke quietly to one of the other men, who turned and ran back the way they'd just come. "We'll see if our princess is up for a meeting with you."

"Even if she's not, we're talking to her." Pidge's angry voice erupted from behind Keith, and Adamo took a step forward.

"Easy, Pidge," Keith said over his shoulder. They didn't need her men getting upset with them right off the bat.

The man returned soon, and spoke to Adamo, who kept his gaze on Keith and his group. Finally he said, "She has agreed to see you." His voice was even, but there was a hum of anger around him that Keith didn't like. He touched the gun at his side, reassuring himself. They were okay, and would remain so, because he would make sure of it.

Romelle was waiting for them, Tallon at her side, a hard look on his face that Keith didn't like the looks of. "You wished to speak with me," Romelle said. "All of you?"

"We need information," Keith said, deciding to be up front about it. "We just had Queen Merla in captivity, and—"

Romelle stumbled backward, a panicked look on her face. Instantly, Tallon was in front of her, shielding her, his gun drawn. "Leave us," he commanded.

"Whoa," Keith said, shaking his head. "We're not with Merla, and she's escaped, anyway. But she told Allura some things that we want you to either confirm or deny, based on truth." He kept his voice hard with authority.

Romelle stepped forward, a pained expression her face. Tallon stood firm, keeping his gaze on the group. "I'm assuming Merla told you about us being best friends, Allura," she said.

"Yes, she did," Allura said, coming to stand next to Keith. "Is that true? Is it true that you refused to leave with her when she came to rescue you?"

Romelle sighed, and it was heavy. "Yes, that's all true." She lifted her gaze to Keith's. "Please understand. I'm sure she told you that I wanted to stay and wait for the return of the rightful rulers, because I wanted to use the lions." Her eyes never left Keith's. "And that is true. But I also knew we were safe here, relatively, and that if we left with Merla, we'd never be safe. We'd spend our whole lives running from Zarkon."

"Why did you lie?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I never lied to you."

"You sure as hell didn't tell all the truth," Lance said. He came to stand on Allura's other side.

"He's right," Keith said, nodding. "So tell us the whole truth now."

Romelle sighed. "I thought if we could convince just one of you to help us, we could use Voltron to take down Zarkon and Lotor. In this, Merla and I are of the same mind. But," she gave a shake of her red hair, "Merla would want to keep Voltron for her own personal use, and I don't."

"No?" Keith found it was hard to believe her. In fact, outside of Allura and his team, he was beginning to wonder if he'd ever trust anyone else again.

"No." Romelle's voice was flat and hard. "I told you: we won't harm you. We only wish to stay here for our safety."

"So now you don't want us to help you? You don't want to use Voltron?" Keith couldn't let it go, not just yet.

"That is up to you," she told him. "You know how evil Zarkon and Lotor are. If you should choose to go after them, we will help you as much as we can."

Keith held her gaze as she spoke, and finally nodded. "Fine. You're sure there's nothing else we should know about you and yours?"

"No." She was solemn, her eyes somber. "I am sorry that I withheld information from you, but at the time it seemed unnecessary to tell you. I didn't think that Merla would come here on her own."

Keith nodded. "Thank you. We'll leave you now." He turned to go, signaling his team to get a move on. "You should know," he added, glancing back at the princess over his shoulder, "that if I have to come down here again to question you, it's not going to be this easy."

Tallon's eyes sparked at that, but Romelle put her hand on his arm and simply nodded. Keith followed his team out, watching with narrowed eyes as Adamo made some comments to Madi as she passed. Lance lunged at him, but Sven intervened and shoved Lance back into line next to him. Keith rolled his eyes and glared at Adamo as he passed him. Adamo fielded the glare with one of his own.

"You believe her?" Lance asked later, when they'd arrived back in the kitchen. It seemed to be their favorite central location.

"I do for now," Keith told him. "We don't have much choice, and we have other things we need to be doing right now." He was frustrated with the situation, but keeping his team and the castle safe was what mattered right now. "We know Lotor will be back at some point, and maybe even Zarkon. We need to be ready for that. I want everyone working on communications and weapons systems. Now that we've got the lions back, we can concentrate on those other things."

"How are we gonna keep that witch from just showing up?" Hunk asked.

"I don't know yet," Keith said, shaking his head.

"Maybe we can use magic to create a barrier," Madi said. She was frowning in concentration. "Allura and I were able to fix Lance up after Hagar hurt him, so maybe we can do something about her just randomly breaking in."

Allura nodded. "I think she's on to something, Keith. I could feel the strength of the magic when we were in the tomb. If we could tap into it, we should be able to harness it." Her blue eyes glowed with excitement, and he knew he couldn't very well say no to her.

"Okay. Why don't you and Madi see if you can do something with the magic, then. The rest of us will work on the comm system, and then later we'll take the lions out and do some formation work."

"Formation work?" Lance frowned.

"Yes." Keith shot him a look. "We need to know how to use them in a fight, and we need to have coordinated attack patterns. The only way to do that is to work on formations." He crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm sure you, as an Air Force jockey, know the value of formations."

"Yeah," Lance grumbled, "but it doesn't mean I have to like it."

Keith snorted and turned away. "All right team, let's get to it."

Four hours later, they had reestablished the comm system, including down in the hangar where they worked on the lions, and Keith was stretching, working out his stiff muscles from being on the floor, working on the equipment. They hadn't seen the girls in that four hours, but he wasn't worried. He knew they could handle themselves, and he had other things to be worrying about. "Take fifteen and meet me down in the hangar," he told the other men and headed to the kitchen to find something cold to drink. All they had was water, and he was craving either Coke or some decent coffee. They'd used up the last of their supplies they'd had on the Starfinder a while back, and now only had what they could find. Coffee beans hadn't been one of those things.

When he stepped into the kitchen, the hairs on the back of his neck rose, and he stopped and pulled his gun, his dark eyes sweeping the room. Nothing seemed amiss, and he didn't see anyone in the room, but there was definitely something out of place. _Must be magic,_ he thought, slowly moving through the large room. The air temperature dropped suddenly, and he turned around, searching for whatever it was that had invaded their home. Something grabbed him from behind, choking him, icy fingers digging into the soft flesh of his neck, and he ducked down, attempting to throw whatever it was forward over his shoulder. But when he reached back, there was nothing. And he couldn't breathe. _Have to fight this thing off. I need air._ His vision was starting to blur, and he fought as hard as he could, but when his enemy was spectral, a mere pair of invisible hands, there wasn't much to fight. He pried at the hands at his throat, but they didn't budge, and he finally succumbed to his attacker, his body slumping to the cold floor of the kitchen.

When he awoke, he was disoriented, dizzy. Blinking his eyes hard, he tried to make sense of where he was, but it felt like nowhere. He tried to sit up, but soon realized he was chained down by his wrist. His ankles were bound as well, but by no ordinary chains. These chains glowed and hummed with some form of magic. Pulling against them did nothing but agitate his sore muscles. His throat burned, and he wished for some water to cool it. He lay back on the bed and tried to concentrate. The room he was in didn't look like any in the castle, and he suspected he'd been spirited away by whatever malevolent force had attacked him. He tried to call out for help, but his throat was too sore and bruised, and he doubted anyone would be able to hear him, anyway.

"You're awake."

He tensed at the voice and turned his head. Merla stood there, a frown on her face. "You," he croaked.

"Me." She moved to the bed and looked him over. She leaned down and touched his face. "Such a fighter, Keith," she whispered and traced his jaw line. He jerked his head away at her touch.

"Why did you do this?" he asked. His head still swam from having been choked, and he fought to keep his eyes focused on her.

"Because I need you." She turned away. "You are the key to bringing down Lotor and Zarkon."

"But Lotor took you," he said, frowning. "How did you get away?"

Merla smiled at him over her shoulder. "No one took me, darling. I simply used Lotor's antics to escape."

"But he—"

"I wrote those words." Her voice turned chilly. "I could've escaped at any time. I wanted you to think you were capable of holding me." She laughed. "No one can hold the Queen of the Black Realm."

"You could've asked for help," he told her. His throat and head ached, and he longed for some cold water to relieve at least his throat.

"No." She turned to face him. "You weren't interested in helping me. I know the truth of that now. This is what needed to be done. You alone hold the command over Voltron, Keith. You are the chosen pilot of Onyx." Her topaz eyes narrowed in on him. "And I need your help."

"Could I get some water?" he asked. He hated having to ask, but with every swallow, his throat flamed with pain.

"Not until you've agreed to do as I ask." She crossed her arms over her chest. "This is harsh, I realize. Kidnapping you was inelegant. I know that. But I must have you, Keith. I must have your full cooperation." Her voice was soft but one couldn't miss the steel woven through it.

He coughed and regretted it. _I can't give in to her. That's not how this works._ "You know I can't agree to anything. Not without talking to my team," he whispered. Fire raced down his throat.

Merla moved close to his side again, and touched his throat. "I know how much pain you're in. I can make that all go away. All you have to agree to do is help me take down Lotor."

He gave a slight shake of his head. She smiled at him, and his eyes widened as she lowered her lovely face toward his bruised one. "I can make things very pleasant for you," she murmured, and suddenly dipped her head, her mouth grazing his own. He jerked his head and she giggled. "Don't be so surprised by the attention," she told him. "You are, as the humans say, quite hot," she murmured, and pressed her mouth to his again, harder this time.

Warmth flooded his whole body, and his throat no longer burned with pain and thirst. He tried to pull away, but something held him there, something he instinctively knew he couldn't fight: her magic. He'd already lost to it once. But he didn't have to enjoy it or make it easy for her to hold him. He squirmed until the magic tightened around him, rendering him completely immobile. She eased back and smiled down at him. "You are a good kisser, Commander Kogane," she whispered. Her voice was sultry and her eyes shimmered like gold. "I could grow quite fond of you, if I were to keep you too long."

"So you're going to let me go?" He ignored all the remarks about him. _I hope Allura forgives me for this._ Though he hadn't been physically able to get away from Merla, he knew it would still hurt his girlfriend that he'd been kissed, quite thoroughly, by the Queen of the Black Realm.

She sat down next to him on the bed and leaned down over him. "Only if you agree to help me. Otherwise, I think I'll be growing very, very fond of you." She touched his chest, and he found it difficult to breathe. Something hard pressed against his lungs, and he inhaled sharply, that sense of suffocation sweeping over him. Merla smiled and said, "Problems breathing, Keith? I can help with that." She lowered her body over his, and took his face in her hands. "Let me help you," she whispered against his mouth, and then she was kissing him again, and he was suddenly able to breathe. He gasped against her mouth, and she smiled against his. "You are going to help me, Commander," she whispered, her mouth still touching his. "You have no other option."

Keith's body was on fire. Every kiss she rained down on him, assaulted him with, burned with such an intense pleasure that it was all he could do not to groan in excitement. Whether the feelings were real or forced upon him by her magic, he didn't know. He fought back with every mental image he had of Allura, of her lithe, trim body, her sparkling blue eyes, that mouth that he wanted to ravage all the time. But Merla was not to be denied, and as strong as Keith knew he was, this was one battle he wasn't going to win. She stroked his cheeks and moved her hands down to his chest. He inhaled, a quick sharp gasp, and she laughed in delight.

"You are so much fun," she breathed over his lips before plunging hers to his again. This time she wasn't content for surface contact; she slipped her tongue into his mouth and he groaned at the touch of it against his. Shivers raced down his body, and he cursed his body for being a traitor. But he couldn't deny how good it all felt, or how skilled Merla was with her mouth and hands. She kissed him deeply, taking him somewhere far from the bed he was strapped to, somewhere so deep that he forgot how to breathe, _couldn't_ breathe, until he was gasping against her luscious mouth, desperate for the air he knew she was denying him. His body twitched, and he knew he was about to lose consciousness again. "Breathe," she whispered and she breathed for him, filling his lungs with the air he needed.

He wasn't sure how long the kissing continued; his mind was a haze of pleasure-filled fog, and when he was finally able to see straight, he realized she had gone. He was still strapped down, and he was sweating. He breathed deeply, and tried to clear his head. _How will Allura forgive me for this?_ That he was going to tell her wasn't an issue – he would never lie to her, and he didn't want this hanging over his head. She deserved to know what had happened between him and Merla. But could she forgive him for that make-out session? One kiss, maybe. What had transpired next…Keith groaned and banged the back of his head against the bed. That he'd enjoyed it, beyond his belief, was what really bothered him the most. He hadn't been able to escape; Merla had used her magic to hold him down. Of that he was certain, because he hadn't even been able to tilt his head to breathe while they were kissing. She had totally dominated him in a way no one else ever had. But yet, in a way, deep down, he _had_ enjoyed the complete breathlessness, the way Merla manipulated him, the way she breathed deep for him like he was drowning.

"Are you thirsty?" Her voice broke his reverie, and he looked at her. She carried a pitcher of something that didn't look like water, and a glass. Setting the tray down on the table by the bed, she poured the amber liquid into the glass and held it to his lips. He shook his head.

"I'm not drinking that."

"Oh yes, you are." She smiled, and he was almost immediately desperate to drink whatever it was she had put into that glass. "Good," she murmured, and he drank deep, draining the glass. When he was finished, she set the glass aside and touched his cheek. "Have you decided to help me, Keith?"

"Are you done using your magic on me?" he retorted. The liquid tingled on his tongue.

She laughed. "I did use some magic, yes, but you can't deny," she leaned down close to his face and touched his lips, "that you enjoyed our kissing." She kissed him lightly. "You are a good man, Commander Kogane. I know how much you love Allura. I can feel it radiating inside you like a beacon." She sat back. "Please understand me: I enjoy kissing you, but I also know you could never belong to another woman."

"So why do this, then?" he asked, curious. "You should know that I won't give you what you want by just kissing me." He was glad that she knew how deep his love for Allura went, even though she obviously didn't respect it.

"Because I enjoy it, Commander." She kissed him again. "You are delightful, and you taste so wonderful." She smiled down at him. "They will be missing you fiercely now, you know."

"How long have I been here?"

"A week."

"What?" His heart rate jumped with panic. "Allura needs me. You have to let me go!" He struggled against his bonds, but they didn't budge. "Please, Merla. She's going to be worried sick about me. You have to let me go back to her."

Merla nodded. "Oh, I'm sure she is. She loves you every bit as much as you love her. But, we haven't come to a conclusion yet. You can't be freed until you commit to helping me." Her voice grew cold as ice. "I can keep you here as long as I please, Keith. No one knows where you are, nor can anyone hear you should you cry out for help." She smiled. "Which you know already." She frowned at him. "Now, are you ready to agree to helping me? Much as I love kissing you, I would like to get on with taking Lotor down."

He shook his head. "I'm not committing to anything with you. You kidnapped me, have held me here against my will, took your pleasures with me—"

"You enjoyed at least that much, Keith. I know who your heart belongs to, but your body language told me you're quite open to physical pleasures," she said, touching his chest. "I can force you to agree to help me. You know I can do that. I'd rather you agree on your own."

"I want to see Allura, talk to her and my team."

"They aren't going to agree, Commander. Not after I've kidnapped and held you prisoner."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have done that," he shot back. Anger was buzzing through him now that his head was finally clear. "Forcing me to say yes isn't going to happen, no matter how much you kiss me or withhold air from me."

She smiled and said, "We'll see, Commander. You'll remain my prisoner until you decide it's in your best interest." She kissed him again, hard, and fury coursed through him. Whatever she had given him to drink had helped clear his mind, and now that it was clear, and he knew exactly what she was doing, he couldn't control the rage that burned through him. When she pulled away, he opened his mouth, but she shook her head. "I know how very angry you are. I can feel it, Keith, taste it. So please: reconsider helping me." She got up and turned away. "I'll be back to check on you later."

She left , and he cursed himself for his part in all this. He hadn't been himself, of course – she'd kept him drugged with magic. He could tell that now, but it didn't change the fact that yes, he'd responded to her advances, to her touch and lips. _Damn it to hell,_ he cursed silently. If Allura never forgave him, he'd understand. He'd be heartbroken, but he wouldn't blame her. This was his fault.


	7. Chapter 7

_I don't own Voltron or its associated characters. Madison Dukane does belong to me.  
_

Sorry for such a long wait - I know that last chapter was very rough for K/A. This one isn't a lot better, and there's some serious evil at the end, something Merla has conjured up. I'm participating in NANOWRIMO this month, and finishing editing my fantasy novel to send to a publisher, but I will return to this. I'm loving it too much to let it go. Thank you to those who are still sticking with it.

CALL OF THE LIONS:

SECRETS OF THE LIONS

CHAPTER SEVEN:

Allura closed her eyes and tried to concentrate, but it was getting harder and harder to do. She'd been in the tombs all day, trying yet again to reach out through the magic and find Keith. That he was alive, she knew. She didn't know how, but she just knew he was. And she would find him, no matter how long it took. It had been over a week now, nine long days, to be exact, and fury and sadness mixed and washed all through her. Who had taken Keith? And why? Had Merla gotten a hold of him? Or Hagar?

"Allura?"

Lance's voice cut into her thoughts, and she sighed. "I'm here," she called out to him. He walked up to her and stared down at her, his hazel eyes full of worry. "I'm fine," she said.

"Liar." He sat down next to her and reached out to take her hand, giving it a strong squeeze. "You can lie to the others if you want, but not to me." He looked her over. "We'll get him back. You know we will. We won't stop until we have him." His voice was fierce with conviction.

"I know." She _did_ know, but it was getting harder to keep up her brave face. "How is everything running?"

"You don't have to do that," he told her.

"I need to, Lance. It's driving me crazy not knowing where he is, what happened to him, or who took him." And that, perhaps, bothered her most of all. "I know he's alive. I can feel him, somehow. But he's in danger, and I have no idea how to rescue him."

"We'll find him." Lance got to his feet. "Come on. We're going out."

"I don't think Madi would like that."

He frowned. "Not what I meant, and you know it. Now come on." He held his hand out to her, and she took it, letting him lift her up. He kissed her forehead. "We'll take Garnet out for a run."

"I should stay here and try to access the magic," she said.

"You need a break, AC," he told her, his voice gentle. "Maddie can come down later with you and see if the two of you can get the magic to do something."

She knew it was a lost cause. "Okay," she said and followed him out of the tombs. They headed down to the hangar, where Maddie, Pidge, and Hunk were working. It was colder today, and she wondered if the weather patterns were going to start shifting. Lance climbed up into Garnet's cockpit, but she hung back. She hadn't really been near the lions since they'd chosen their pilots, and wondered if she'd be allowed to fly in the red lion. Lance turned and gestured for her to follow him up, and she started climbing.

Garnet shuddered when she got into the cockpit, and Allura could hear Lance murmuring as he sat in the pilot seat. There was a small jump seat to his left that Allura sat down in as he turned the massive mecha around. "This is gonna be fun," Lance told her, but she could see how forced his grin was. Nevertheless, he was making this effort for her, and she forced a grin back.

"Thank you for doing this," she said as they left the hangar.

"Not a problem," he told her. Garnet burst into a run, a loud roar ripping from her mechanical throat, and Allura couldn't help but feel some elation at the speed and power. Lance threw her another grin, and this one was very real – he was enjoying himself.

She found herself enjoying it too, until thoughts of Keith filled her with regret and shame. How could she enjoy herself, when he was gone? _What if he's hurt? I feel like he's in danger. We have to find him._ Tears filled her eyes and slipped down her cheeks, and she was too damned tired to try and hold them in. Lance glanced at her and Garnet immediately came to a stop.

"Hey." Lance got up and came over to kneel next to her, putting his hand on her knee. "He's okay. We just have to find him, and we will. He was a Marine, and there's no one tougher than a jarhead. Trust me. He's going to be okay." His voice was softly adamant, and she nodded, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, and he frowned at her.

"No. You don't get to tell me that," he said. "You have every reason to be upset, to be furious. Come here." He reached around her and pulled her into his arms, and she let him. It was comforting to have his arms around her, and she tried to pull herself together. Keith needed her to be strong, so she could hold the team together. She pulled away from him, and he watched her as she sniffled and wiped again at her cheeks. "He's out there, Allura. We'll find him."

"I know." She took a deep breath. "Thank you for this, for just being here."

"Any time, AC." He got to his feet. "Still want to go for a ride, or would you rather go back?"

"No, let's keep going," she said. She knew she needed some time out of the castle, and riding along in Garnet _was_ fun. He flashed that cocky grin she liked and got back into the command chair.

"You heard the princess, Garnet. Let's go!" he ordered, and the big mecha launched into a dead run.

An hour later, they arrived back at the castle, and Allura climbed down out of the cockpit. No one else was in the hangar, and a shiver of something dreadful twitched through her. Lance joined her, and said, "Something seem off to you?"

"It does." She took a cautious step toward the massive hangar doors, and Lance matched her, one hand on his sidearm. They walked outside. It was starting to rain, and they looked at one another and sprinted up the trail toward the castle. Lance went in first, gun drawn now, but they didn't find anyone. At all – the place seemed completely empty. "Should we split up?"

"Absolutely not," Lance said, shaking his head. "I know you can take care of yourself, but something evil is going on here. I know you can feel it."

"I do," Allura admitted. She had pulled her gun too, and together they began going through the castle room by room, hoping to find someone. But an hour later, they'd come across no one, and she was feeling like a target.

"Let's try the comm system, see if anyone picks up," Lance said. They headed to the command room, and it was there they heard a low moaning noise. Allura burst past him and ran toward one of the control panels. Keith lay on the floor, holding his side, his face scrunched with pain.

"Keith!" Allura dropped down next to him as Lance came to her side. "Keith, can you hear me? Sweetie?"

Lance knelt down on his other side. He looked across at Allura. "I swear I didn't hear him in here before when we checked."

"No, me either. I have the feeling whoever had him just now brought him back."

"Yeah, me too." Lance got to his feet. "Wake him up. We need to know what happened."

"I'm trying." Allura pressed her lips to his, hoping that that would rouse him, but his dark eyes remained closed, and she sat back, sighing. "He's hurt, and he's not waking up. It feels like magic to me, dark magic."

"Yeah, me too." Lance moved away and began fussing with controls on the different panels. "I don't see anything on those two old cameras Hunk got working."

Allura tapped Keith's cheeks, but he seemed to be totally out cold. Another moan slipped past his lips, and anger hummed through her blood. Someone had taken him from her, and hurt him, and it was unacceptable. She got to her feet. "Do you think whoever had him took the others?"

Lance's face paled at that, and he glanced down at Keith. "I sure as hell hope not. I don't want Madison getting hurt."

"You know the guys would protect her," she told him. "I just don't get it. Why take him in the first place? Why take the others? I mean, something obviously happened to them. We know they wouldn't desert us."

"Merla."

The word was soft, but they both heard it and turned to Keith. Allura rushed to kneel next to him again, and Lance dropped down beside her. "Keith," she breathed out and kissed his forehead.

"Allura," he said, and there was pain in that one word, so much of it that she didn't think she could stand it.

"Shh, it's okay," she soothed, touching his cheek. "You're safe now – I promise." And she was going to keep him that way, no matter what she had to do.

He gave a slight shake of his head and tried to sit up. Lance reached around him and helped. "Merla," he said, her name more of a gasp. "She took me, took them."

Lance's dark hazel snapped with anger. "How the hell did that happen?"

Keith heaved out a deep cough that made Allura's eyes water with sympathy. "Lance, he's hurt. Leave him be."

"No. We can't, not if that woman has Madison," Lance growled. "Kogane, what happened?"

"She jumped me in the kitchen, and took me somewhere. I don't know where," Keith said, meeting Allura's worried eyes. "She used magic on me, but I wouldn't help her. She said she'd be able to get the others to help her." He turned his head. "I'm sorry, McClain. She was going to try using Madi next, I think."

Lance sucked in a deep breath. "We need to find them."

"I don't have any idea where we were," Keith said. Regret filled his voice. "She dumped me here. I tried to figure out where I was, where she was keeping me, but I got nothing."

"Keith, it's not your fault. She kidnapped you and hurt you," Allura said. She shot Lance a warning look. "As long as the others are together, they'll manage all right until we find them."

Lance huffed out a breath and got to his feet. "So what do we do now? How do we find her?"

Keith pulled himself to his feet with Allura's help, though she wished he'd rest a while longer. "I don't know." He looked at Allura. "Have you asked any of the lions? Have you tried using the magic here?"

"No, really, Kogane? You think the rest of us didn't think to try that when you disappeared?" Lance's voice had a growl in it.

Keith frowned. "I'm just asking, McClain. I know you're upset with Madi being—"

"Upset?" Lance walked over and stood in front of him, arms crossed over his chest. "Hell yeah, I'm _upset_. What did Merla want you to help her with, anyway?"

Keith turned away. "She wants to use the lions to go after Lotor and take him and Zarkon down." He walked over and ran his hands over the control panel. "I refused. I told her she should've just asked us to help her, instead of thinking she can run away with Voltron."

Allura walked over and leaned her hip against the panel, putting her hand on his arm. "Keith, it's okay. You're not to blame for this. She kidnapped you and used magic to hurt you. We'll find the others. You know we will."

He turned his head to look at her, and she saw the desolation in his eyes. "She's powerful, Allura. I tried to resist her. God knows I did." His voice broke a little, and she exchanged a worried look with Lance.

"What happened to you?" she asked, her voice soft.

His eyes, so dark and beautiful, filled with pain and he shook his head. "I can't tell you now, not here," he whispered.

"Please," she whispered back, and made a motion with her left hand for Lance to leave the room. He did, but grudgingly, a scowl on his handsome face. "Keith, it's just us now. Please, sweetie, tell me what she did to you." He was broken somewhere deep, she could tell, and it hurt that he wasn't talking to her.

He sighed. "She kept me under her magic most of the time, and it's powerful. I don't know how powerful you and Madi are, but I'm not sure you could beat her." He met her eyes. "She did things to me, things I couldn't resist. She kept me hazy with magic, so I know I wasn't in my right mind, but I _do_ know I fought back, as much as I could." He hesitantly reached out to touch her soft cheek. "I used images of you, baby, to try and beat her, but it wasn't much use." He dropped his hand as Allura began realizing what he was implying. "We didn't sleep together, so far as I know, but we kissed." He swallowed hard, and she saw that it hadn't _just_ been kissing. It had been some sort of connection on a much deeper level. "I couldn't help it, honey, I swear." His voice broke a little, and even though she knew he was telling her the truth, and needed her, she couldn't handle what she was hearing. She turned away even as he reached for her, and she backed away from him. "Allura, please, I'm sorry. I did everything I could to get away from her, to try and fight back," he whispered.

"I-I just need a minute," she whispered back, knowing she needed longer than that. _He was drugged with her magic. I know he's telling me the truth. And she's so powerful, he couldn't escape._ But it cut her deep, because even through the pain of his admission, she sensed there had been pleasure, too – he'd _enjoyed_ kissing the Queen of the Black Realm. But to point that out, to be so petty, was something she wasn't able to do to him. They'd already been through so much together, had found one another after years of separation, and she wasn't about to lose him again because of this. She took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry you had to go through all of that, Keith. And I know you were powerless against her. I know what that's like. But I'm going to need some time to process this."

"I get that," he said immediately. "And she told me that she knew she could never turn me away from you," he added. "She said she could sense how I feel for you radiating inside me."

It was nice to hear him say that, but it wasn't enough, not yet. She nodded. "And that's good. I know how you feel about me, and you should know how I feel about you. But the fact is you kissed another woman, Keith, and that hurts." She didn't want to make him feel worse, but the truth needed to be told. They weren't high schoolers, playing some emotion game. "I will need time."

He nodded and swallowed hard. "All the time you need, honey," he whispered. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here with you. It must've been hell."

"It was." And now their team, sans Lance, was missing, and they had no idea where they were. "Do you think she'll hurt Madi?"

Keith blew out a slow breath. "I don't know, honestly. She knows she's a Mechanical Magician, and she might be able to manipulate Madi's magic."

"We need to find them. If something happens to her, to any of them, I'll never forgive myself."

"Hey. You two done talking yet?" Lance walked back into the room. "We need a game plan."

Allura nodded and walked past Keith. It hurt to leave him standing there like that, to know that any kisses or hugs were going to be further into their future, but it had to be done. She couldn't be intimate right now, knowing that Merla's mouth had been on Keith's, had probably been other places too. Her cheeks burned with both embarrassment and fury, and she saw Lance's eyes narrow in anger as he looked over her head toward Keith. "Not now, Lance," she said, grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the room.

"Did he do something? What happened?" Lance asked. His voice was cold. "Magic spells or not, if he did something to hurt you—" He stopped when she turned on him, all fire and ice.

"What happened is between him and I, and that's all you need to know," she said. Her tone could cut diamond. "We need to somehow find the others, because Madi is probably in danger, more than the rest of them."

That took the fight out of his eyes, and they filled with fear and trepidation instead. "So what do we do, then? The lions haven't been helpful, and you haven't been able to tap into the magic enough in the tomb to do anything."

"Thanks for reminding me," she said, shaking her head. "Come on. Let's try the lions again. Madi has a very strong connection with them – they might be able to locate her."

"Worth a shot. I swear, if Merla hurts her like she did Keith…." His voice trailed off, but the fire in it still burned bright.

 _Somehow I doubt she'll do to Madi what she did to Keith._ Anger shot through her again at the thought of Merla having her way with Keith, of her kissing him, putting her hands on him. _Stay focused. There will be a time to tell Merla off._ And to take a few swings at her, too. She almost smiled at that one. Merla was a survivor, but not necessarily a fighter, and the thought of knocking her down to the ground, of maybe even knocking her _out_ , was enough to make her smile, if just for the briefest moment.

They made their way back down to the hangar, Keith trailing behind Lance, and she tried not to think about how this was hurting him. She was hurt too, and at the moment, it was too hard to care about what he was feeling. Onyx was in the hangar, and he flashed his eyes when they entered. "Onyx, where is Madison? She's in danger," she said.

The great mecha growled and got to his feet. "You think he can find her?" Lance asked.

Allura concentrated on the big cat, but he remained silent. "I don't know. Onyx, please. You have to help us."

"They didn't help when I was missing," Keith said, his voice low.

"You aren't the Magician, either," Lance said, his voice cold. "And no offense, but you're a Marine. You should've been able to handle yourself."

"And she's an AIC agent," Keith shot back. "You think she can't take care of herself?"

"Enough," Allura ordered. She walked over to Onyx and touched his paw. "Please, big guy. We know our team's in danger, and we don't know where to look for them. You have to help us." Onyx lowered his head to look at her, and his eyes flashed again. "I don't know what you're trying to say," she complained.

 _ **GREAT DARKNESS FALLS**_.

"Ow," she said, grabbing her head. "Okay, thanks." She looked up at him. "That doesn't really help us, unless that's the place they're at."

"What'd he say?" Keith asked, moving closer to her.

"He told me great darkness falls, whatever that means," she said, shaking her head. "It sounds more like what might be coming than a place."

Keith looked up at the lion. "Onyx, you have to give us more clarity than that. Come on. Our friends are in trouble."

The big mecha growled and began to back away from them, out of the hangar. They watched him go, and Allura saw the other four moving to intercept him as he left the building. Breaking into a run, she followed, suddenly knowing that something was going to happen. She heard Keith call her name but didn't slow down, didn't wait. The five mechas stood in a circle and lowered their heads until they were all touching one another. Allura stopped just shy of the circle, realizing somehow that this was an intimate gesture, and that the humans were not welcome. Keith and Lance drew up on either side of her, and she heard Lance let out a low whistle.

"Never seen them do this before," he whispered.

"I know. Shut up," she told him.

A strange keening sound began to fill the air, assaulting their ears until they had to cover them. The middle of the lions' circle began to glow, their five colors melting into a brilliance that was too hard for Allura and the men to look at it. It got hot, and she tried to breathe deep, finding it was difficult. Keith wrapped his arm around her, and though the gesture was comforting, it was also a little irritating, but she didn't shrug him off. Something told her they both needed it. Right before the air got too oppressively hot to breathe, the lions backed up and broke their tight circle, and she saw four figures lying on the ground, none of them moving.

"Madison!" Lance launched himself forward and hit his knees next to her. "Madison. Wake up," he said, gently shaking her shoulders. Allura and Keith followed, Keith moving off to kneel next to Sven, while Allura sat beside Madi. "Come on, Madison, wake up," Lance said, his voice harder. There were no marks on her, but Allura suspected something had been done to her magically, just like to Keith.

"Lance, you'll have to be careful with her," she cautioned. "Merla likely did something to her."

"I know," he said, and glanced at her. "Sorry. I'm just relieved she's here and pissed she's knocked out."

"I get that," Allura said. She looked over at Keith, who met her eyes for a second. There was longing in them, and yet they were tinged with wariness, and she couldn't hold them for more than that second. She hoped that Merla hadn't damaged Madi the way she had Keith.

Hunk moaned and sat up, and Allura hurried over to him. "Hunk? Are you okay? Can you hear me?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good," he said, looking at her when she knelt next to him. "Man that witch is brutal, though." He glanced over at Madi and his face fell. "We did what we could, Allura. We tried to protect her."

Lance glanced at him. "What did Merla do to her?" His voice was hard.

Hunk heaved himself to his feet. "I don't know, because she took Madi away from the rest of us. But we could hear her screaming." His face fell as he crouched down next to their fallen Magician. "Sven and I did everything we could to break out and get to her."

"Damn it." Lance gave Madi's shoulders another shake.

"Well, hello."

Allura gasped and turned, seeing Merla moving toward them, a glowing staff in her hand. "What did you do?" Allura demanded, pulling her sidearm.

"My, my, princess." Merla stopped and stared at her. "You really think you could stop me with that?" She turned her head to look at Keith, who had gotten to his feet and was watching her. "Hello, darling," she called to him, her voice dark with sweltering heat.

It was all Allura needed to hear to confirm her worst fears, that Keith had been much too intimate with the Queen of the Black Realm. She shoved her gun in her holster and attacked Merla. The Queen was too busy watching Keith's dropped jaw reaction to her voice to notice the incoming blonde dynamo, and Allura knocked her to the ground, and straddling Merla, put her hand to her throat, squeezing as hard as she could. Merla gasped for air and Allura leaned down into her face. "No one hurts my boyfriend, or my team," she snarled. Her blue eyes flashed with wicked lightning. "Give me one reason to not end you here." But Merla couldn't talk, couldn't breathe, and Allura found some satisfaction in making her hurt, in knowing she _could_ be hurt.

"Allura." Keith's firm voice behind her made her frown. "Let her go, sweetheart."

"No." Lance moved toward them, and stopped with the heel of his boot on Merla's vulnerable neck. "I say we make her pay for what she's done. She took you, our team, and hurt Madison," he growled.

"McClain, stand down," Keith ordered, moving closer, his voice hard as steel. "Allura, let her go. This isn't how we do things."

"Yeah?" Lance glanced at him. "So you're okay that she had an epic makeout session with you? You liked that, huh? Maybe you're not the upstanding guy I thought you were." His voice was full of venom. "She _hurt_ my girlfriend, and I'm not gonna let that stand."

"An epic _what?_ " Sven was on his feet and made his way over to them. He looked at Allura and then Keith. "Are you serious?"

Keith growled something under his breath and reached to pull Allura off, but she resisted. She could see Merla was about to pass out, and knew she had to let go of her throat. She wasn't a murderer, but could admit to herself that it felt good to have this much control over someone as powerful as Merla. She took her hand away and Merla gasped, choking for air. Allura leaned down into her face again. "You better pray to whatever god you're into that Madison is okay, or I'm turning Lance loose on you."

Lance leaned down. "And unlike our fair princess here, I _will_ put an end to you." His voice was a growl, and Allura shivered, because she knew he meant it. She got off Merla and took a place next to Sven, not feeling charitable toward Keith right then. Lance took his heel away and crossed his arms over his chest.

Keith knelt next to Merla. "Why are you here? You know we're not giving into your demands." His voice was frosty. Merla reached out, still panting for air, and touched his cheek. He jerked back, his dark eyes narrowing to slits. "No. That's not what this is, not what it's ever going to be."

"You had fun with me," she whispered, but loud enough the others could hear it. Pidge had woken up and was now standing next to Hunk, and his face was a thundercloud.

Keith shook his head. "That was nothing but your magic drugging me," he snapped. "What did you do to Madi?"

Merla sighed and tilted her face so she could see Madison, who hadn't woken up yet. "I did what I had to do, handsome," she whispered. "You're in for a surprise." She began to murmur some strange words beneath her breath, and they all heard Onyx roar.

"Madison." Lance jogged toward her as she sat up, but stopped when she got to her feet, her hazel eyes dark with something fierce and wild. "Madison, it's Lance," he said, his voice careful.

"I know who you are." She turned to face the others. "I know who you all are." She looked up at the lions. "You're not worthy of them." She spoke a few words in a strange ethereal language, and the lions fell to the ground. "They are mine now," she said, looking at Allura. "They will bow to me, as will all of you."

Allura sucked in her breath, now understanding what Onyx had said earlier to her. She reached for Keith, knowing that even though things weren't right between them, they were going to need to stand together.


	8. Chapter 8

_I don't own Voltron or any of its associated characters. I do own Madison Dukane.  
_

 _Sorry for such a long delay, friends. I took time off to work on a hero novel, but I will be adding this story back into the update rotation. For those who've missed K/A moments, you get some of those this time around._

 **CALL OF THE LIONS:**

 **SECRETS OF THE LIONS:**

 **CHAPTER EIGHT:**

Keith watched as Madison moved forward, that insanely wild look in her golden eyes. He took a step in front of Allura, not caring if she got mad at him or not. He'd hurt her, damaged their close relationship, and he'd be damned if he'd let their magic-crazed Mechanical Magician hurt her more. Allura put her hand on his arm, her grip tight.

"Madison, stop," Lance said, and put himself between her and the others. "Merla's controlling you. You're stronger than that. Fight her," he urged.

"Oh, darling, she's stronger than I ever imagined," Merla said, walking up beside him. "There's never been such a strong magical connection between the lions and their Magician. She's magnificent."

Lance kept his eyes on Madison. "Let her go, Merla. Whatever the hell you're doing to her, stop it."

"It's not up to me, now," Merla told him. "All I did was break the last barriers between her and the natural magic of Arus. She's in full-control of herself."

"Wait, I was on Arus the whole time?" Keith said, incredulous.

"Yes, my love."

"He's _not_ your love," Allura said between gritted teeth. "Leave him alone."

Merla smiled over her shoulder at her. "So defensive, Allura. Didn't Keith tell you I could feel his love for you radiating inside him? He'd never truly belong to me. I'm just toying with the both of you."

Keith's hands tightened into fists. He hated that Merla had taken him and done such evil things, and hated that she was just toying with them now. "So what do we do, then? How do we get Madi to come back to us?" he asked.

"Oh, you don't. She's in touch with the magic that lives within Arus. This is the person she was destined to become. The lions belong to her now, as they always should've. I'm upset with myself I didn't think of that sooner. Although," Merla cast a glance back at him, "I certainly enjoyed my time with you."

Keith growled beneath his voice, "Stop talking about it. You know my heart belongs to Allura."

"Silence." Madi's voice cracked like a whip. "You will leave now."

Lance took a step toward her, stopping when she held a hand out to him. "Madison, this isn't you. Please, you need to stop this," he said, a pleading note in his voice.

But there was no recognition in her hazel eyes. "You will bow," she said, and the fierceness in her voice was hard for them all to hear. This wasn't their Magician. "Now." She raised her right hand, and a purplish light began to envelope it. Lance straightened.

"No. We will not _bow_ to you," he said, his voice hard. "I love you, but I'm not going to bow down to you. And neither will they." He motioned to the others.

Madi laughed. It was like a cold musical fountain. "You have no idea what I can do to you now."

Lance crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah? Then go ahead. Give it a shot. I'm not afraid of you." His voice was terse. "Come on. Show me what you can do now, oh mighty magician," he added, taunting her. "You might be able to control the lions, but you sure as hell can't control _me_."

Keith took a breath and let it out slowly, his eyes never leaving their Magician. He knew Merla was powerful, and if Madi was equal to her, or more powerful, this probably wasn't going to end well. Allura was silent beside him, her eyes closed, and he wondered: was she trying to reach out to Madi through the magic? They'd used it together before, to help wake Lance up from a deep magic-induced sleep, and they'd used it a couple of other times as well.

"Why do you not fear me?" Madi asked Lance. There seemed to be a bit of confusion in her voice.

"Why? Because you're no better than Merla is. If you had as much control over the Arusian magic as you think you do, there'd be no reason to threaten us with it. We're your friends, your teammates. You don't hurt your friends," he told her, and there was ice and fire in his voice. "You don't hurt the guy you're supposed to be in love with."

At that, Madi took a step back. Behind them, Keith could hear the metal joints of the lions groaning, and glanced back over his shoulder. The lions were starting to lift their heads. Onyx flashed his eyes twice at Keith. _Come on, big black. Give me something here. What are we supposed to do? How do we help Madi?_

"Keith." Allura sounded breathless. "What is happening?"

The lions had gotten up and walked away from them. Garnet turned her head to look at Madi and let out a roar. Madi started to walk toward them.

"Madison." Lance's voice was sharp. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Leaving. They are mine now." She continued toward the lions.

"Not gonna happen." Lance started after her, his face grim.

Garnet let out a roar and jumped toward them, one massive paw landing between Madi and Lance. Madi glanced at him, and then turned her gaze to Keith and Allura. "You will let me leave," she said. There was nothing in her voice. It was dead.

Keith didn't know what to say. They couldn't very well let her leave with the five lions; that would leave them mostly defenseless. But how could they stop her? _Come on, black. Talk to me._ Onyx remained silent, and Keith moved toward Madi. "Madison, we aren't letting you leave with the lions." He kept his voice controlled, but there was fury in it.

She kept walking, and now Cobalt moved toward them, growling. "Keith," Allura said, shaking her head. "It's not worth it. They're going to listen to her, not us."

"Then we make them listen." Keith strode toward Onyx. The huge mecha turned his head and lowered it, staring at him with baleful yellow eyes. "Listen up, big black," Keith said. "I don't care what pull Madi has over you – you are bonded with me. _I'm_ your pilot, not her. You are staying with me." He stopped and crossed his arms over his chest.

Onyx snarled at him, but Keith held his ground. This had to be the end of the line. Madi might've been more powerful magically, but he had the power over Onyx. When the lion snarled again, Keith said, "Drop it, Onyx. You belong to me, not her."

"Onyx." Madi's voice rang out and the black lion started to turn toward her.

"You may as well give up, darling," Merla said. "She is by far more powerful than you."

"Doesn't matter. He and I are bonded, and that means he has to listen to me." He looked around at the other pilots. "You're all bonded to them. Make them listen to you." His voice was steel.

"Garnet." Lance started toward the red lion, while Sven, Hunk, and Pidge started toward theirs. "She doesn't know you like I do, girl. You belong to me."

Madi turned toward him. "My magic is stronger than their bonds with you."

"We'll see about that," Hunk said. "Hey, Flax. Come here, big fella." The yellow lion turned his head, and everyone could see that he wanted to come to Hunk, but couldn't.

"You will hurt them if you keep resisting me," Madi said. Her eyes, so strange and violent, flickered as she looked at Keith. "You have to let them go."

"No." He shook his head.

Merla laughed. "She's right, love. You have to let them go with her."

"No way," he snarled. "And don't call me that." He moved toward Onyx again. "Onyx, you know you have to listen to me. That's what being bonded is all about." He spoke in a firm voice, and the black lion flicked his ears toward him. "That's it, big boy. Listen to me."

"They will not." Madi's voice was dark and a purplish light began to envelope her. "They are the treasures of Arus, and only the Magician can bring out their true potential." She chanted a few strange words, and as one, all the lions turned from the others and gathered around her. The ground began to shake.

Keith hurried to Allura's side. She was standing still, eyes closed, and her locket was glowing. "Allura. Sweetheart, what are you doing?" he asked. When she didn't respond, he gave her shoulders a quick shake. "Merla, what's happening here?" he asked, worry threading through his voice.

The queen came to his side, and reached out to touch Allura. Electricity arced between her hand and Allura's arm, and Merla took a step back. "I don't believe it."

"Believe what?" Keith's voice was hard. When Merla didn't answer, only stared with surprise at Allura, he grabbed her arm. "Merla, what is going on?"

"She's tapping into all the magic here on Arus," Merla said, astonishment in her voice. "I had to go to great lengths to get Madison to tap hers, and Allura is doing it on her own."

"What does that mean?" Sven asked, moving to Allura's other side.

Merla leveled a look on him. "It means she is going to be the most powerful ruler Arus has ever seen."

Keith exchanged a look with Sven. "If she's that powerful, will she be able to break the hold Madi has on the lions?"

Merla frowned. "I don't know. The Magician is also very powerful."

Allura's eyes slowly opened, and Keith held back a gasp. They were glowing blue, bright and more vibrant than anything he'd ever seen. She reached out a hand toward the lions, and they roared, turning toward her and away from Madi. Madi let out a shriek, and Allura's eyes narrowed, and Keith could _feel_ the energy, the magic, arcing off of her.

"Get back," Merla urged. "She will hurt you if you stand too close."

"Um, anyone else getting creeped out?" Pidge asked. He and Hunk moved to stand with Sven, while Lance came to Keith's other side.

"They are mine," Allura said, and her voice rang out like a bell. "Come." One by one, the lions came to her, circling them. Keith saw their eyes repeatedly flashing, and he wondered at the strength of his girlfriend's magic, that she could do this. They bowed, their noses to the ground, and Madi let out a final scream before dropping to the ground.

"Madison!" Lance raced to her side, and took her gently into his arms. "Is she okay? What did Allura do to her?" There was fury tempered with fright in his voice.

"She overpowered her," Merla said, and she backed away from Allura. "I've never seen such magic in the all the Realms." Her eyes went to Keith. "She will be a very dangerous woman, Keith."

"Dangerous?" Keith turned toward Allura. She was standing and breathing quietly, and he reached out to put his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me." The words were quiet but sharp. Allura raised her eyes to his. "As Merla has said, I am dangerous now." She turned, looking up at the lions. "You may be their pilots, but they are truly mine to command now."

"Allura," Keith breathed out, suddenly afraid that he was going to lose her. "You won't be dangerous to me, or to the team. You can control the magic."

"Control it." She turned to face him, and there was darkness in her eyes. "I don't control it. It flows through me now. I am one with Arus." She looked at Merla. "You knew, didn't you. You've known all along how powerful I would be."

"I wasn't sure," Merla said, shaking her head. "I thought by turning your Magician against you that would free the magic within you, but I never dreamed you'd become this." There was awe in her voice, but there was also a waver of fear.

"You used Madison on purpose? What right did you have to do that?" Lance snarled. He walked over to them, Madi passed out in his arms.

"Right? I had every right in the world," Merla said, scowling. Even then, her perfect face was gorgeous. "Something more terrible and evil than the Realms have ever seen is coming, and we need a champion." Merla pointed at Allura. " _She_ is our champion, not Voltron. Voltron and the lions are merely tools she will use to crush the evilness."

Keith listened to them talk, but he was focused on Allura. She was watching the others, but there was a distance to her, like she was a thousand miles away from all of them. He moved closer to her, watched as she turned her blue eyes to him. They were startlingly bright, and it was disconcerting. "Honey, you might have all the magic of Arus now, but you're still _you_. You're still my girlfriend." _Aren't you? Or has that changed now?_ He was very unsure of their relationship at the moment.

Her eyes flickered, and he saw a tiny flame of warmth in them for about five seconds. "As Merla said, there is evil coming that we will have to deal with. Our relationship is not important at this time." She turned on her heel. "I will take the lions back to the hangar." She looked over at Lance. "I want Madison there as soon as possible."

He scowled at her. "She's hurt, AC. I'll let her come down when I think she's okay."

Allura shook her head. "I need her to help me." She spoke a few quiet words, and Madi began to stir in his arms.

"Easy, sweetheart," Lance murmured, shooting a glare at Allura. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Madi struggled to get down, and he finally gave in, setting her on her feet but keeping an arm around her. "Lance, let go. We have work to do."

"No." The word was a snarl. Madi looked up at him, and they could all see the surprise on her face. "You were kidnapped, hurt, and just had Allura put you down in the dirt. I am not clearing you for work yet." His voice was hard, as was the look in his eyes. "I know the lions need work. I know there's something bad coming. But damn it, Madison, if you won't take care of yourself, then I _will_." He turned to face Allura, who watched him with an impassive expression.

"And _you_ , AC. I know you're all tapped into the Arusian magic now, and that's great. Just peachy. But you are _not_ forcing her into working when she's injured. And by the way, this whole mystical thing you're trying to pull off, it's not working. You might be the most powerful ruler Arus has ever had, but don't forget: I'm a ruler, too, and I sure as hell don't need magic to make good decisions and get the job done. So drop the ice queen act. It doesn't suit you." He expelled a deep breath and swept Madi up into his arms. "Garnet, get over here. You're taking us back to the castle. _Now._ "

Garnet got to her feet and moved toward him. No one said a word. Keith was inhaling and exhaling, just trying to keep calm. Sven, Hunk, and Pidge shifted on their feet, their eyes on Allura. It seemed like they were waiting for her to do something dramatic, something magical – something terrible. He wasn't going to wait for that to happen. He wasn't happy with how Lance had talked to her, but maybe it had affected her.

"Allura," he murmured, and reached out for her hand. She let him take it, and he was surprised by how warm hers was. "Honey, talk to me. How are you feeling?"

For a moment, she tensed, and he was afraid she'd pull away from him. But then she hugged him, and he wrapped his arms tight around her, holding her as close as he could. "I'm sorry," she breathed into his chest. "I forgot who I really am." There was fright in her voice, and he squeezed her, kissed the top of her head.

"It's okay. I'm sorry Lance spoke to you like that."

"No, I needed to hear that. He's right, he is the other ruler of Arus," she whispered. "I need to get away from here."

"I can do that." He lifted his head. _Onyx, come here. You need to get Allura and me out of here._ The lion didn't speak, but began moving toward them.

"Wait, where are you going? Allura, there's so much to be done," Merla said. She took a step in Allura's direction, but Sven cut her off.

"Stay away from her," he ordered. "And get off our planet."

She shook her head. "I can't. Where would I go? I'm being hunted by Lotor."

"Not our problem," Sven growled. "You've done nothing but cause chaos and hurt. We don't owe you anything, and we're sure as hell not protecting you, not after what you've done. Now go." If she had thought to argue, that died at the icy fury in his voice, and she turned away.

"We'll regroup in an hour," Keith said. He walked Allura over to Onyx, and the big black cat opened his mouth for them to climb into. Madi and Lance had already headed back to the castle with Garnet, and he was sure the others would take their own lions back. Allura sat down in the mouth and bent her knees to her chest, and he sat down in front of her, facing her, wishing like anything he could see what she was thinking.

Tears started running down her lovely face, and he sucked in a hard breath and reached for her. She crawled into his lap, and he wound his arms tight around her as she nestled her head on his strong chest. "Shh, honey," he whispered. "It's going to be okay." He didn't know what else to say. He had no idea what she'd been through, what had happened that allowed her to tap into all the Arusian magic. She whimpered against him, and he bent his head over her. "I'm right here, sweetheart," he murmured. "It's going to be okay, I promise." Because he would do whatever it took to _make_ it right, no matter what that was.

"I hurt Madi," she finally whispered.

"She was trying to take the lions," he said. "You stopped her."

She eased back from him and looked into his eyes. "I _hurt_ her, Keith. All the magic was swelling inside me, and she and I were connected through it, and I panicked and I—" She broke off as a sob tore from her throat. "I know she was awake and talking, but I damaged her, Keith. And I don't know how much."

He didn't know what to say that would help her, but he had to say something. "She's strong, baby, like you are. She's going to be all right. Lance will take care of her."

She nodded and cuddled back in against his chest, and he held her so tight, wishing he could just infuse her with his warmth and strength and make her feel better. Onyx seemed to know they needed silence and peace, and he made no sound as he made his way back to the castle. Keith stroked a hand over Allura's soft silken hair, his thoughts churning. Where did they go with this now? Merla had said Allura was dangerous, and Allura herself had said it. But why? Why would the magic try to harm them, when they were Arusians?

"I'm sorry I frightened you," she murmured. "The magic, it's so heavy, and it takes effort to coincide with it."

"How did you tap into it? Merla said she didn't think you could do that."

"I'm not sure. I just knew I couldn't let Madi take the lions." She shrugged. "And then I felt it, the magic, seeping into me, like thin tendrils. It was overwhelming."

"I'm the one who's sorry, love. I should've figured out some way to help you," he said, regret in his voice. "After everything I've done, I should've been there for you."

She touched his cheek, and he tilted his head into her small hand. "It's not your fault. Now that I know what the magic feels like, I know truly there was no way you couldn't resisted any of Merla's magical advances. She was in complete control of you. Before, I thought maybe you should've fought her harder, should have made more effort to escape. But the magic, it's inescapable. It really is. She had you trapped, and there was nothing you could do."

Relief swept through him at her words. It didn't excuse the fact that he'd kissed Merla, made out with her, but he was relieved that Allura knew he hadn't been able to get away, to break the magical bonds surrounding him. "I'm still so, so sorry for that, though," he whispered. "I know it hurts you, and I would never choose to hurt you. Not ever, for any reason."

She put her lips to his, and an electrical impulse darted through his body, causing him to shudder and suck in a deep breath. Her mouth was hot and soft, and he slanted his own over hers, taking her face in his big hands to keep her steady. Her tongue eased into his mouth, and he kissed her deeper, wondering, somewhere in the recesses of his mind, if she was using magic, too, and deciding it didn't matter. She was his, and he belonged to her. That was all he needed to know. All was forgiven.

They kissed for several moments before she gasped against his mouth, and he let up the pressure, only to have her press harder against him, like she needed him to breathe. One hand moved to her back, rubbing up and down, trying to soothe her, to calm the race of her heartbeats against his own. When she seemed to have trouble breathing, he pulled away, and she snuggled closer. "Easy," he whispered. "Take a breath, sweetheart. I'm not going anywhere." His voice was rough with tense emotions, and he kissed her forehead.

She put her head on his chest and took a couple deep breaths. He leaned his head back against the side of Onyx's mouth, taking deep breaths himself. They hadn't kissed like that in quite a while, and though he knew the reasoning behind that decision, he regretted it now. They were stronger together than they were apart, and he only had himself to blame. He realized Onyx had quit moving, and put his hands on Allura's shoulders. "We're here, honey."

She nodded and got to her feet. He stood too and rapped on the wall of the giant lion's mouth. "Open up, black."

The great mouth opened, and he helped her down, being very careful. She was breathing calmly now, and he wanted to keep her calm, for her sake. She'd been through enough in the last week and a half. Onyx had brought them up to the castle, and Keith took her inside, leaving the lion to his own devices. No one was around, for which he was grateful. They went to his bedroom, and she sat down on his bed. Her eyes were still supernaturally blue, and he wondered it that would pass, or if this was something he needed to get used to. It didn't matter, anyway – it was her, and that was all that mattered.

He'd just sat down next to her when she said, "They're afraid of me now."

"Who?"

She glanced at him. "The team. I hurt Madi, and I could've hurt all of them. They won't trust me now." The sadness in her voice killed him.

He touched her face, waiting for her to look at him. "They aren't afraid of you, sweetheart. They're worried about you. I know they are. That wasn't you out there, that was the magic, you said so yourself, how heavy it is. I wish you didn't have to bear that all alone."

"I can take it," she whispered. "I'll learn how to deal with it."

It hurt him that she would have to deal with it by herself. Wasn't there any way he could help her? _Onyx, help me out. You know how much I love her. Tell me I can help her someway._ But the lion remained silent, and he sighed internally, wishing that he and the black cat had better communications.

The door burst open and Sven stuck his head in. "Something big is on the radar, and it's not friendly." His voice was terse and Keith immediately got to his feet.

"Let's go," he said, and followed Sven down the hall. Allura was right behind him, and though he wished she'd rest, he knew better. The others were in the control room; Hunk and Pidge at the main console, Madi sitting at the end of it, Lance right behind her, daggers glowering in his dark hazel eyes. Keith ignored him and leaned in-between Hunk and Pidge. "What are we looking at?"

"We don't know, but it's big, and it's moving fast," Hunk told him. "I don't like the look of this."

"We need to get some of the lions up here," he said. "Lance, Hunk, Pidge, go."

"No. I'm not leaving Madison right now."

Keith took a deep breath. He knew McClain was as upset over what had happened to his girlfriend as Keith was over Allura, but this was work. There was something out there that might be a threat. They needed to act, to keep their planet and their home safe. "She'll be safe, McClain, I promise. She and Allura will stay right here."

Lance started to say something, but Madi reached up and took his hand from her shoulder, and squeezed it tight. "Go," she said, her voice calm but with a thread of fear in it. "I'm okay right now."

He lifted his gaze to Keith's, and there was fire in it. "I'll go, but if she gets hurt, Kogane, you're responsible for it."

"I know." Keith turned back to the console as alarm tones began beeping. "The ship is entering our atmosphere. Go now."

Lance, Hunk, and Pidge left on the run, while Sven and Allura stayed at the console with Keith. The ship was large, and appeared to be quick. Keith flipped a switch, opening a line of communication. "This is Commander Keith Kogane, of the Voltron Force. Who is this?"

There was a crackle of static, and then, "This is the SS-110. We are a Galaxy Alliance battleship. We have been sent on a diplomatic mission to the planet of Arus." The man's voice was clipped.

Keith exchanged a look with both Allura and Sven. "Do you have proof of your mission?"

The comm went silent, and they all seemed to be holding their breaths. Then, another voice, one that made Keith jolt and Madi gasp. "This is Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Dukane." There was another burst of static. "Been a long time, Keith."


	9. Chapter 9

_I don't own Voltron or its associated characters._

 _So here we get to meet Jeff's team. They will be familiar to you, but hopefully new, too._

 **CALL OF THE LIONS**

 **SECRETS OF THE LIONS:**

 **CHAPTER NINE:**

Allura waited next to Keith as the big battleship came to rest. Keith had asked Lance, Hunk, and Pidge to stand-by, just in case it was a trick, and the three lions stood downwind of the landing site. Madi was standing next to Sven, and the apprehension on her face was mixed with joy. Allura wished her own brother, Luke, could come to Arus, but he was far away, fighting battles that now seemed insignificant to her and her teammates. The ship settled and a landing ramp dropped down.

"Jeff!" Madi launched herself at the tall dark-haired man descending, and he grinned and caught her up in a hug, swinging her around in the way only a big brother could do to a little sister. Allura found herself smiling, though she was wondering just why the Alliance had sent an emissary ship to them – particularly since they'd chosen to send a battleship. Jeff set Madi down and slung an arm around her, keeping her close to his side as he made his way toward them.

"Jeff. Good to see you," Keith said, putting his hand out for his Marine comrade to shake.

"You too, Keith. Seems like it's been years," Jeff said. He smiled, but Allura felt that it was forced. It wasn't the radiant smile the Lieutenant Colonel had bestowed on her at the restaurant when she'd met him for the first time. His deep blue eyes weren't sparkling, either.

"What brings you here?" Allura asked, unable to stay quiet another second.

Jeff turned on the brilliance a bit more when he looked at her. "The Alliance is just interested in what you've been doing here," he said. "You were supposed to retrieve Voltron and bring it back to them." There was just the tiniest bit of disapproval in his voice, and Allura took a breath. She needed to stay calm.

"Voltron belongs to Arus," Keith cut in. "The lion mecha that make him up aren't for sale, to anyone – not even the Alliance." He put some coldness in his voice.

"I see." Jeff let his arm drop from around Madi, and Allura saw the concern in the younger woman's hazel eyes. "That is disappointing, Keith. You _do_ know you are all members of the Alliance."

"We were," Keith said. "Not anymore. This is our home now, and we're not leaving."

Jeff took a deep breath. "I don't suppose there's any way to peacefully get you to reconsider."

"No." Keith's response was immediate.

"Jeff, is that the only reason you came? Just to try and get us to take the lions back to Earth?" Madi asked.

He looked at her. "I'm here to do not only that, but bring _you_ home, as well, sis. You have a new CO, and he wants you back on Earth."

She took a small step back from him. "You're working for Gerald Foxx, aren't you? Even after I told you not to trust him."

Jeff sighed. "He's trustworthy, Madison. I don't know why you don't like him. The guy's a genius." He glanced back at their ship, and then leaned down closer to her, and whispered something that only she could hear. She gasped, and Jeff shook his head a little. "Keep it down," he said.

"What's going on?" Keith asked, taking a step closer to them.

"Is there somewhere we can talk?" Jeff asked, looking at him. There was something dark in his eyes. "Somewhere no one can listen in?"

"In the castle," Keith said, nodding.

"Good. I'll be right back." Jeff squeezed Madi's shoulders and made his way back up the ramp of the ship.

"Madi, what did he say?" Allura asked.

Madi moved closer to them. "He said not to panic, that he's here to help, but that he's being monitored by Foxx." Her voice shook a little. "I told you guys Foxx is bad news."

"You did," Sven said, nodding. He looked at Keith. "Can we trust him?"

"Yes," Keith said. They waited until Jeff came down the ramp, this time with a pretty dark-haired woman in tow. "Is that Lisa?" Keith asked.

"It is," Allura confirmed, glad to see her old high school friend.

"I'm assuming you guys remember Lisa," Jeff said to them, smiling as Lisa stepped forward to hug Allura and Keith.

"We do," Allura said. "Lisa, it's so good to see you."

"You too," Lisa said, nodding. "We should go inside," she said, half-turning to Jeff.

"Lead the way," Jeff said to Keith. The group of five made their way toward the cliff steps, and Allura hoped that Jeff had told Madi the truth, that he was here to help them, and not to try and take the lions away. She would never allow that to happen, and she knew Madi wouldn't, either. Once they made it into the castle, Keith told the others to stand down and join them in the big meeting room. They'd set up a table there and chairs, and it was where they held team meetings and discussed what needed to be done next to the lions and the castle.

They waited for the other three before starting, and Allura saw Jeff's eyes narrow into slits when Lance sat down next to Madi and leaned over to kiss her cheek. Allura smiled; it was obvious Jeff wasn't too impressed, but she knew he'd have to get used to it – Lance wasn't letting Madi go.

"Okay, Jeff, let's have it," Keith said. "There're no spies here."

Jeff nodded. He stayed on his feet as he addressed the room. "What I've said so far is true. We were sent here by the Alliance to try and bring back Voltron. I'm working under Commander Gerald Foxx now, and have been since you guys left Earth. Lisa was also asked to join under his command, and she told me about John Wisdom, her and Madi's CO who was drowned, and told me about Voltron and why Foxx wanted the mecha brought back to Earth so badly." He paused. "Foxx is getting closer to completing his Voltron project. Granted, he only has what he stole from the journals to use, but he has the very best mechanical and bio mechanical engineers working for him, and it's coming along. Not as fast as he'd like, but it's getting there."

"He sent you here," Keith said.

"He did. But I've done some of my own digging around in his past, and he's not who he claims to be. He's out to take over the entire Alliance, any way possible, and to dominate pretty much all of space." Jeff huffed out a breath. "I'm not okay with that, and neither is Lisa. We were both chosen to come after you guys, and do whatever necessary to get Voltron. Obviously, we're not here to do that. We have a pretty small crew with us, and they're _with_ us. None of us want Foxx to get what he wants."

"So how do you intend to help us?" Sven asked.

"By doing whatever you need us to do. Lisa has told me everything she knows, and I know that I'm part of the Mechanical Magician line, just like Madison is." He smiled fondly at his younger sister. "Lisa is an Earthling, as are the rest of our crew, but they don't agree with anything Foxx is doing, and they've given me their support."

"Won't Foxx just send more ships after you guys when you don't return?" Hunk asked. He looked skeptical.

"More than likely, yes," Jeff said, nodding. "But we believe you guys are the rightful owners of the lions, and we'll help protect Arus from the Alliance."

"How do we know we can trust you?" Lance asked, earning himself a sharp elbow in the side from Madi. "What? I know he's your brother, but he _is_ under Foxx's command. He might just be telling us a good story." His hazel eyes darkened as he looked at Jeff.

"You can trust him," Madi said, her voice as sharp as her elbow. "I told you Foxx was a bad man," she added, looking at Jeff.

"And you were right. I just didn't want to see it when you told me," he admitted. "We've brought supplies, including weapons, and our ship is fully-functional. We can use it to defend Arus."

Keith rubbed a hand over his face and looked at Allura. "I think our team needs to talk about this first, and we'll let you know what we think," he said. Allura nodded.

"That's fair," Jeff said. "Lisa and I will wait for your decision in our ship."

"No," Sven said. "I think you two can wait here in the castle. I don't want you out on that fully-functional battleship." His voice was hard.

Lisa got to her feet. "That's also fair," she said, glancing at Jeff. "We understand."

"We do. Where would you like us to wait?" Jeff asked.

"Here is fine," Keith said. "Team, meet in the kitchen."

The others left, and Keith and Allura followed them. "Do you buy his story?" Allura asked him.

"I do, and I know he's a good man, but we need to be cautious. This is coming right after you and Madi have gained your full magic, and I don't like that. It's suspicious," he told her. "But I've trusted him with my life a lot of times, and he's never let me down. Plus, Madi is here, and I know he'd do anything to protect her. That tells me he's on the up and up with this."

"Okay. I don't think anyone else, besides Madi, is too keen on them staying here, though." They had stopped outside the kitchen, and were speaking in low tones.

"I know. As long as you and I are united on this, though, they'll follow our lead. I know our team well-enough now to know that." Keith went into the kitchen and gestured at the group. "All right, let's hear it."

"It's suspicious," Hunk said. He was leaning against the counter, a mug of what passed for coffee in his hand. "I don't like that."

"Me either," Sven said. "Merla just told us a great evil is coming, and then an Alliance battleship literally enters our airspace. How do we know we can trust Jeff?"

"He's my brother," Madi said. It was obvious she was trying to contain her anger. "If I say you can trust him, you can."

"That's not good enough, honey," Sven told her, shaking his head. "We've got enough problems with Merla out there, and Lotor and his crazy little sister, and we don't need to be keeping an eye on Alliance officers too."

"Lance?" Madi looked up at him.

He ran a hand over his hair, which was starting to get shaggy. "I gotta side with Sven and Hunk on this one, babe. I don't know your brother at all, or this Lisa chick, and I'm not about to trust our home world, ourselves, or the lions to them." His voice was quiet but firm. "Keith, Allura?"

"Pidge? You need to chime in," Keith said, redirecting the question.

Pidge shrugged. "I trusted Sera, and look where that got us."

"Jeff is one of us," Madi insisted. "Keith, he's a Marine, and a damn good one. You know that. Show a little faith."

Keith nodded. "I trust your brother, Madi, but we need to be cautious. Your feelings are clouded because of your relationship with him. You need to remember that." He took a deep breath. "All that aside, I do trust him. I think he and Lisa know what Foxx is planning, and it's not good, for anyone. But, we need to be cautious here. Jeff and his crew will need to report to us, and we'll need to keep eyes on them. I don't want them around the lions at all."

"Jeff is a Mechanical Magician, just like I am," Madi said. The anger was calmer, but they could all hear it simmering in her voice. "Once he taps into the magic here, he can help me with them."

"And that would be a good thing," Keith told her, nodding. "But do you get what I'm saying?"

"Yes," she said. It was clear she didn't like it, but she understood the reasoning behind it.

"We just need you to trust us as much as you trust him," Allura told her. Madi nodded, but when she looked at Allura, there was a little bit of fear in her eyes, and Allura knew she deserved that. Even though she figured Madi knew why she'd used her magic to knock her out, it had still been a violent thing to do. "Please. All of you just need to trust us on this. If they show us they can't be trusted, we will get them off-planet as soon as possible."

"We trust you," Sven said, nodding. "But everyone needs to stay sharp."

"Agreed," Keith said. "Allura and I will go talk to them." He moved out of the room, and Allura followed. She hoped that Jeff and Lisa would understand their position; anyone new to Arus at this point wasn't going to be fully-trusted. They just couldn't afford to do that.

Jeff and Lisa were talking quietly when they came in, and it seemed to her that maybe they were more than just officers on the same crew. Jeff stood as they came, but Keith waved him down. He and Allura sat as well, and Keith motioned to her.

"We've decided to trust you," Allura said, her voice quiet. "But please understand that we have been under attack by those seeking to take the lions of Voltron for themselves, and we are being very cautious with anyone new to our home world."

"Fair enough," Jeff said, nodding. "I suppose you'll want to keep us under wraps a little, until the rest of your crew has gotten used to us."

"Yes," Keith said, nodding. "It's nothing against you guys, but like Allura said, we just have to make sure."

"Not a problem," Jeff said. "Do you guys have quarters for us, or do you want us to stay on the ship?"

"No, we have room," Allura said. The last thing she wanted was for them to be lying to her and her team and have full-access to the battleship. "I'm also restricting how much you're around the lions."

At that, Jeff's eyes narrowed. "No offense, Allura, but you _know_ I'm Madison's older brother, so you know I'm of the Mechanical Magician line." His voice was colder. "I know you don't want to trust strangers right now, but I promise: I'm not here to steal the lions, or do anything to them. I want to help."

Allura nodded, but she felt a little uneasy. Madison had been with them for most of their mission, and they trusted her. What if Jeff really was lying, and only wanted to try and use his Magician powers to harm the lions? Or worse yet, try to take them?

"I know what you're thinking," Jeff said, shaking his head. "I promise the both of you: my crew and I are only here to help. Yes, we were sent by Foxx, but that guy is bad news, for not only Earth, but all the planets. Trust me when I say I only want to use my powers for good."

"We want to trust you," Keith said. "And I know you're a good guy. We saw plenty of action together in the Marines. But things around here have been off-kilter, and we're just trying to protect our own."

Jeff sighed. "And that's fine, Keith. I just ask for a little good faith towards me and mine."

"You'll get that," Keith said. "Come on. Why don't you get the rest of your crew, and I'll show you where you can stay."

Jeff and Lisa got to their feet, and Jeff said, "Sounds good. Lis, why don't you stay here with them. The rest of us will be back soon." He nodded to Keith and left, and Allura found her eyes drifting to Lisa, studying her. She was still slim, and quite beautiful, but there was a sense of purpose about her that she hadn't had the last time they'd seen one another. Her dark eyes glanced their way, and then darted toward the door. She was nervous.

"So you worked for Madi's old CO too," Keith said. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"I did. I was the only other one Wisdom trusted," Lisa said, her voice soft. She took a small step toward the door.

"You don't have to be afraid of us," Allura said. "We want you to trust us."

"I know." Lisa stopped, took a deep breath. "It's just hard to trust someone new. It took me quite a while to trust Jeff and the others on our crew. AIC agents are taught to trust no one."

"You sound just like Madi," Keith said, a small smile on his face. "She had to learn to trust us, too, and vice versa. Not all of our crew wanted to trust an AIC agent."

Lisa smiled at him, but it soon faded. "We'll do our best to help with whatever we can. We just don't want Foxx to have any power. He's a very bad man." A shiver touched her shoulder blades.

"Thank you for deciding to help us," Allura said. "We know it's hard to defy CO's."

"You're welcome, although it wasn't too hard, not after we discovered just how evil he really is," Lisa told her. She still seemed nervous, and Allura wished she could put her at ease.

"Do you want us to introduce you to the rest of our crew?" Allura finally asked, after the silence had stretched on for too long.

"Sure." Lisa snapped out the response, but she was still ill at ease.

Keith led them to the kitchen, and introduced the others to Lisa. Madi came over and hugged her, and they whispered back and forth for several moments. Sven moved to stand beside Allura.

"Pretty," he whispered.

"And involved, if I read the cues right," Allura told him, smiling when he groaned. "Maybe not, but she and Jeff looked pretty close."

"Just my luck," he said, shaking his head.

Jeff walked in a few minutes later with the rest of his crew, and the kitchen was suddenly very full of people. Pidge suddenly ran at one of the new people, a young man who looked a lot like him. "Chip! What are you doing here?" he asked, grabbing the man's shoulders.

"Darrell? I didn't know you were here!" Chip's eyes grew wide behind his dark-rimmed glasses. He turned his head to look at Lisa. "You didn't tell me he was here," he said.

Lisa came to stand next to the two of them, and put a hand on Chip's shoulder. "I wasn't sure if all of them had made it, or if they were even all alive," she said. "I didn't want to get your hopes up."

"Who is he?" Lance asked.

Pidge glanced at him. "He's my older brother, Christopher."

"So he's Arusian, then, too," Madi said. There was bewilderment in her voice, and she looked at Jeff. "You said no one else on your crew was of Arusian descent."

"I didn't know they were brothers." He looked at Lisa. "You didn't tell me that."

"I know. But like I said, I didn't want to get Chip's hopes up, and have them broken if Darrell hadn't made it." Her voice was still soft, but there was a line of iron through it. "I thought that was best."

"Okay." Keith blew out a breath. "Anyone else on your crew siblings or relatives of my crew? Anyone else Arusian?"

Everyone looked around at everyone else, and shook their heads. "Good," Keith said. "Jeff, make introductions then."

Jeff nodded and motioned to a tall dark-haired man. "Shannon O'Brien. Navy SEAL. There's nothing he can't do." Shannon nodded to the rest of them. "This is Hutch Madden," Jeff continued, pointing at the big guy next to Shannon. He was at least as tall as Hunk, if not a bit taller, with light brown hair and dark brown eyes. "Navy, flight mechanic. Nothing he can't fix."

"Hey," Hutch said, glancing around at all of them.

"You've met Christopher 'Chip' Stoker," Jeff said. "Engineer, Air Force, best of the best." His gaze flickered to Pidge for a second before continuing. "AIC Agent Lisa Quin. Don't think I need to say anything else about her." His gaze lingered just a second too long on her before skipping to the last of their crew, a young woman with long curly blonde hair. "And Ginger 'Snap' Powell, Navy pilot. She can fly anything."

"Powell. As in Admiral Mason Powell?" Keith asked.

"Affirmative," Ginger said, nodding. "My father." Her voice was husky and sweet. She stood next to Shannon, who gave her a fond look when Jeff mentioned her.

Keith went around and introduced his team, and everyone nodded politely and smiled, but Allura could tell her team was on edge, and probably rightly so. They were used to doing things a certain way, and now they had six new people thrown into their midst. It was likely to be awkward for a while.

"So," Lance said, "what's the plan now?" He was standing close to Madi, one hand at her waist, and again Allura saw Jeff's eyes narrow into slits.

"So we have more help now," Keith said. "Which we're grateful for, by the way," he added, looking at Jeff. "We'll bring you guys up to speed starting tomorrow, show you the weapons systems, show you the lions. We'll go from there."

"Sounds good," Jeff said, nodding. "Anything we can do to help."

Allura wanted to be reassured, but found she couldn't relax. It was too soon for that. Madi pulled away from Lance and went to Jeff, and he hugged her close and tight, and another pang went through Allura. She missed Luke, and knew that Keith missed Brian, his younger brother, too. Someday maybe they'd be able to have Luke and Brian here, in their rightful home. For now, though, they had things to do, a planet to protect, and a new crew to assimilate into their home.


	10. Chapter 10

_I don't own Voltron.  
_

Okay, this chapter is shorter than most of the others, but there are some significant K/A moments in it at the end, and I really wanted to share it with you guys for the New Year. I know there are questions about Jeff Dukane and his team, and some of that tension should be laid to rest by the end of this chapter. They are Alliance, but they are against Foxx, for different reasons, which will come to light here and there. I hope you enjoy :-) And Happy New Year!

 **CALL OF THE LIONS:**

 **SECRETS OF THE LIONS:**

 **CHAPTER TEN:**

Keith finished explaining what all had gone on the day before to Jeff, who let out a whistle. "Damn," he said, shaking his head. "So are you and Allura all right, then? She forgive you for all that?"

"As far as I know," Keith said, nodding. He still couldn't quite believe it, but was happy they were still together. "I just thought you should be up to speed on the magic going on here."

"I'll be glad to help Madi," Jeff told him. "If the lions are okay with me."

"I would say they should take to you fine, but that might not be the case," Keith said, shrugging. "They have different personalities." And Cobalt really had taken to no one, although she did tolerate Madi and Sven.

"It all seems so surreal, you know?" Jeff got up from the table. "I should go see how my team is doing."

"We're all one team now, right?" Keith countered. He was happy enough to have Jeff and his crew here, but he was still guarded.

Jeff turned to him. "I know you're suspicious of us, Keith, and I get that. But if you _really_ didn't trust us, you'd have contacted the Alliance by now." He met Keith's hard gaze. "I think you and I both know that." He spoke in a soft voice, but there was steel in his blue eyes.

And Keith _did_ know that. He and Allura had even talked about doing that, but knew it could jeopardize Jeff and his crew. So, they'd elected to trust him and his team. For now. He slowly nodded. "We did talk about it, but thought it might endanger you guys."

"We can take care of ourselves," Jeff told him. "If it will give you and Ally a peace of mind, go ahead and call Foxx. Tell him we got here. He'll tell you why we came, what we're here for." Confidence filled his voice. "I'm sorry you guys don't completely trust us. I'm not sure what to do about that."

"Me either." Keith sighed. "I think it's mostly because we've _learned_ not to trust anyone here, besides the team." And that was a lot of it. And some of it was because they had shown up right after Merla had warned of a great evil coming. Could the Alliance be that great evil?

"Hey, I get that." Jeff took a breath. "Remember being over in the Middle East? We learned real fast not to trust anyone."

"I remember," Keith said, his voice softer. "I might call the Alliance, if you're sure you don't mind."

"No, go right ahead. We want you to be comfortable with us here," Jeff said. The steel in his eyes had gone away. "So I'm going to go find Madi and see if I can go visit the lions with her." He paused. "If Allura is okay with that. I know she doesn't want us with them too much."

"It's fine. Madi won't let you screw them up," Keith said, a rueful grin on his face. Though he'd learned to love their feisty Magician, she certainly wasn't someone to mess around with.

"Good to know." Jeff made to leave, paused, and turned to face him. "What do you know about this pilot she's seeing?"

Keith smiled. It had been very obvious to everyone, including Lance and Madi, that Jeff wasn't happy with them dating. "He's a good guy. We don't always get along, but I do trust him."

"Would you trust him with Allura?"

That was a question Keith had already had to deal with. "Yes. And you should know Madi can handle herself."

"Yeah, I know." Jeff shook his head. "But I don't want him messing with her. He looks to be the kind of guy who likes to play with women's feelings." There was now a subtle growl to Jeff's voice. "I'd hate to have to hurt your red lion pilot."

"Trust me, I've wanted to hurt him myself a few times," Keith confided. "But he genuinely seems to care about her."

"Good to know." Jeff left the room, and Keith turned back to the list of items Jeff had given him of things they'd brought on the battleship. It was a long, extensive list, and he wondered if Jeff had specifically brought things along that he figured they'd need for a long duration.

"Hey." Sven stepped into his office and closed the door. "You catch Jeff up?"

"Yeah. What can I do for you?"

Sven sat down in the chair Jeff had just vacated. "Did you and Ally call the Alliance?"

"We talked about it, but haven't yet, no."

"You should." Sven glanced toward the door. "Not that I don't trust our own government, but I don't trust our own government." He sat forward, rested his hands on the desk. "Having them here is making the rest of us uneasy."

"McClain just doesn't like Madi's older brother being here," Keith said. He couldn't resist a shot to the Air Force pilot.

Sven frowned at him. "Come on, man. You really believe them?"

"I do. But I do think I'm going to try and call up Foxx, talk to him about the nature of their mission. If he says he wants Voltron, then we'll know they're telling us the truth." He studies the Army Ranger for a second. "You were all for trusting them earlier. What changed that?"

Sven sighed. "I'm not sure I was ever all for just blindly trusting them. We've seen enough since being here to know we can't do that. I want to keep our team safe, Keith. I want the lions and our home and planet to be safe. If Jeff and his are really here to do us harm, I'd rather know sooner than later."

"You know that's why Foxx sent them here. If we call, and Foxx asks what Jeff's team is doing, I'll have to tell them that they're disobeying him and staying here. That puts their team at risk, and by association, us. Foxx will know what we're up to," Keith told him.

"And maybe that's a good thing," Sven said. "I'm not trying to argue. I just want us safe. We've put a lot of time and effort into this place."

"I know." Keith rubbed a hand over his face. "I'll talk with Allura more about it. For now, just keep an eye on them."

"That's what we've been doing." Sven got up. He met Keith's eyes. "I trust you and Allura to do the right thing."

"I know you do." And hopefully their whole team did. He knew it was hardest for Madi, because of course she loved and adored and trusted Jeff, the only person she'd said before she truly trusted. But the rest of them didn't have that blind faith, not even him, and he'd served overseas on a couple different tours with Jeff. He knew Dukane was a good man, and a better soldier. Better than he was, probably. Still, that didn't mean they could rest easy.

Later, after going over the list, he went in search of Allura, and found her in the lions' hangar with Madi, Jeff, and Lance. The air was quite thick with hostility, and not between the two women. Keith heaved an internal sigh and walked over to them, wrapping an arm around Allura's shoulders and giving her a sideways hug. "Hi," he murmured.

"Hi," she said. She was glaring at Lance. "Lance, just let him and Madi work on this. They're the Magicians, not you." Her voice had some anger in it, and Keith didn't like that. He wanted to keep things peaceful.

"What's the problem?"

Madi sighed and looked at him, one hand on her hip. "Lance doesn't think Jeff should be allowed to help with the lions, even though Allura gave her approval."

Keith looked at his girlfriend in surprise. "You did?"

"My thought exactly," Lance said. His voice flashed with anger.

Allura nodded. "Yes. We know Jeff is a Mechanical Magician, too. There's no reason we shouldn't at least let him work with Madi on the lions. Some of them might respond to him better than her." She looked at Keith, and he saw a flare of challenge in her too-bright blue eyes. He wondered if they'd change back.

"That's fine, I'm just surprised, that's all." He nodded to Jeff. "Go ahead. Maybe they will listen to you more."

Lance threw his hands up in the air. "Are you two serious? Yesterday you said they wouldn't be allowed near the lions, and now you're letting him work on them? Are you crazy?" This was directed mostly at Allura, and Keith's eyes narrowed in temper, but Allura waved him off.

"So I changed my mind, okay? Relax. We're all standing right here. I doubt he's going to try and hurt them with us here." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Right, Dukane?"

"Right." Jeff nudged Madi's arm. "Okay, sis. Where do we start?"

"I think we should start with Onyx," she said, and started toward the massive black lion. But she hadn't gone more than a few steps when Lance grabbed her arm. She glared at him. "Let me go."

"You're going to let him work with the main lion first? Are you mad?" His voice was dark with fury.

Jeff stepped up next to Madi, and Keith immediately went forward, knowing this wasn't going to end well. "Let go of my sister," Jeff said. His voice was calm, but there was a twitch of red hot anger in it that didn't bode well.

Lance complied, and said, "Madison, I know he's your brother. But this isn't right, letting him work with Onyx first."

"I trust him to work on Black," Keith said, easing himself between Madi and Lance. When Lance gave him an incredulous look, he added, "I know Jeff, and I trust him." He nodded to Madi. "Go ahead." _And please let me be making the right decision here._ Glancing at Allura, he saw that she didn't seem concerned at all. _It seems like she's a little out of it today. Maybe the magic is doing something to her._ That wasn't a reassuring thought at all, and he hoped he was wrong.

"You know what? Fine. Dandy. Let the new guy, who the _Alliance_ sent, play with our most powerful weapon. I give up." Lance stomped toward the hangar doors, stopped, and turned. "No, you know what? I'm staying, so I can hopefully protect you all if Jeff is a bad guy." He crossed his arms over his chest, a defiant gleam in his hazel eyes.

Madison inhaled a sharp breath and turned on him, and even though Keith could see her temper was arcing, he stood back and let her go. Jeff did, too. And Allura looked a little amused with the whole thing. "Have you forgotten that the _Alliance_ sent us, too? That we had the same exact mission as Jeff and his crew: to find and bring back Voltron? The only reason we didn't do that was because Jeff sent you to pick me up, and I convinced you of your birthrights here on Arus." Her voice trembled. "We know we can't trust everyone, Lance, but we should trust those who really want to help and protect Arus." She turned toward Onyx, and Lance moved toward her.

"Enough," Allura said. "Lance, she's right. I know we have to be very careful who we trust, too, but Jeff worked with Keith and he's part of the Magician bloodline. We have to give him a chance to prove himself." She caught Keith's eye, and he saw that she was okay, she was herself. He breathed out a quick sigh of relief.

"Allura's right," he said, backing her and Madi up.

"All right, fine." Lance stopped, and Jeff followed Madi to Onyx. The black lion blinked his huge left eye at them, and Madi touched his paw.

"Hey, big fella," she said, her voice low and husky. "This is Jeff, my big brother, and he's going to be working on you guys, too."

Onyx let out what could only be called a purr, and amazement spread through Keith. Why was the lion taking to Jeff so quickly? Was it because he knew who Jeff was? Because now both of their Mechanical Magicians were on the planet? He walked over to stand beside Allura, and she leaned on him.

"Amazing, huh?" she whispered. "Who'd have thought your big tough cat would like Jeff right from the get-go?"

"I know. Makes me a little jealous," he said, shaking his head. "Wonder what the others will think of him."

"Probably the same, although Cobalt is a rough sell." Her voice grew quieter. "How are you holding up? Anyone giving you grief over this?"

"Sven came to me, wants me to call the Alliance about it." He huffed out a breath. "I don't know what to do. If we call, Foxx will know all of us are defying our orders. They suspect that of us, anyway, which is probably why he sent Jeff's team."

"I'm sure it is," she murmured. She turned her head, stretched up and kissed his cheek. "You and I need a date," she whispered. "Just us."

Heat washed through his flat stomach. "Yeah? Why didn't you say anything sooner?" He turned to face her and cupped her lovely face in his hands. Her eyes still disconcerted him, but she was still Allura, the woman he'd loved his whole life. "When?"

"Now?" She smiled up at him. "I miss you. And some weird stuff has happened lately, and I just – I need you."

And just like that, everything else seemed to fade from his mind. All the stress of Jeff and his team, the horrible things Merla had put him through, the way the magic of their home seemed to be rising up to try and take control. He didn't care that the other three were still there in the hangar. He put his mouth to Allura's and kissed her. And it was right and hot and amazing, and he kissed her deeply, so deeply, holding her tight in his arms, kissed her until she gasped against his mouth and he wanted to keep going but needed to breathe. They broke apart, both gasping, and he heard catcalls in the background, trying to break through the fog of that kiss.

"Get out of here before you make us sick!" Jeff called.

"Out! You're soiling my work space," Madi told them.

"Nice work, Commander. Glad to see you still know how to have a good time," Lance said.

Allura blushed and smiled up at him. "We need one soon, handsome. And away from everyone else."

"I can do that." He glanced at the others. "Think it's safe to leave them?"

"Yes. Onyx has already approved of Jeff, and something tells me the other lions will, too. And that gives him and his team a lot more credibility in my book."

"Yeah, mine too." He pointed at the other three. "Behave yourselves, or I'll sic Onyx on you."

Madi snorted. "As if he'd listen to you over me."

Keith put just enough ice in his answering stare to make her blush and turn away. He held his hand out to Allura. "Come on. Let's get out of here." They left the hangar and started up toward the castle, and he couldn't believe how good he was feeling right now, even with everything else going on. And it was Allura who had made him feel this way. Everything about her was right to him. The castle was quiet when they arrived, and he led her down to his bedroom. They weren't going to sleep together, though hell _yes_ he was thinking about that, but they both wanted to be married before that. And, he wanted to make sure she was really okay with what Merla had done to him. She seemed to be, but he knew women could put on a good front.

He closed his door as she sat on his bed. Turning to face her, he said, "Are you okay with what happened between Merla and me? Really?"

She nodded. "I really am. Like I said yesterday, I know how terrible and strong the magic here is. There was no way you could've resisted her." She patted the bed beside her. "Are you worried about that?"

"I'm just concerned that you haven't forgiven me yet." He sat down beside her. "I love you, with my whole heart, honey, but I can't undo that part of my life."

"It's okay. And now that I have all my magic, I can protect you from her. I can protect all of us." She pressed her lips to his, and his heart thrilled and raced. "I love you, too," she murmured. And then they were kissing like they hadn't seen one another in forever, and he lay back on his bed, pulling her down on top of him, mindful not to be too demanding. He knew they weren't ready for that next hot step yet, but he also knew it needed to be soon. He wanted her for all of forever, and they needed to make it official. His arms snaked like strong iron around her slender and soft torso, and she murmured to him in a language he knew had to be Arusian, and that just made her hotter and more desirable.

When he knew she couldn't breathe he tried to pull back, but she refused to lessen the contact, and he simply breathed for her, until even his lungs were screaming like he'd been under water for way too long, and only then did she lift her mouth from his so they could both inhale sharp and deep. But then they were kissing again, and he rolled her over so he was leaning over her, and her mouth was so soft and so full of fire and he could barely think anymore. She ran her hands up under his shirt, touching and massaging his abs and he moaned into her mouth, and she kissed him harder. He finally drew back, out of breath, dazed and feeling like the luckiest guy in the whole universe, and gazed down at the only woman he'd ever wanted.

Then they lay quietly together, no words being needed. He knew he needed to marry her, and soon, because they couldn't do this again without both of them wanting, needing, that next step. He held her tight as she snuggled into his side, and he also knew that no matter what was coming, what great evil Merla had foretold of, they had each other, and somehow, that was going to be enough.


	11. Chapter 11

_I don't own Voltron or its associated characters. Oh, but that I did...  
_

 _This chapter is dedicated to Paulina Ann, who has been, every once in awhile, asking if I've been hearing the lions calling...(sorry it's short, Paulina. I will try to update this every week, or at least every other, until it's done). Thanks for the patience._

 **CALL OF THE LIONS**

 **SECRET OF THE LIONS**

 **CHAPTER ELEVEN:**

Allura walked into the hangar and paused, a smile spreading across her face. It had been a month since Jeff and his crew had landed on Arus, and in that month, a few changes had taken place. The biggest one was that her team was getting along with Jeff's team. She wasn't sure if they all completely trusted one another yet, but they had at least figured out how to work with one another without fighting. And Madi was happy, happier than Allura remembered ever seeing her. Having Jeff here had perked up the younger woman, and she wasn't as apt to snap at her teammates if they irritated her.

"Allura." Madi grinned and jogged over to her. "Jeff and I are running diagnostics on Cobalt, and they're looking good. I really think we're getting the lions fine-tuned now."

"I'm glad. We need to be ready to go when Lotor comes back." Because he would. There was no doubt in any of their minds. "She seems to really take to him."

"She does, which I'm glad. She only ever tolerated me." Madi put a hand on her hip. "Sven's even having an easier time with her."

"You think it's because of Jeff?"

"I don't know." Madi shrugged. "But we'll be ready when Lotor comes. I know we will."

"Hey sis," Jeff called. He was hanging out of Cobalt's cockpit. "Come here a sec."

Madi nodded and jogged back over to him, and Allura made her way over to where Pidge sat a bench, staring at a computer screen. While he was happy to have Chip here, she knew his heart was still mending after Sera had turned traitor on them. She put a hand on his shoulder. "How's it going?"

"Good. Madi's right, we'll have the lions ready to go," he told her.

"And flight practice has been going well?"

"It has, once Lance decided to listen to Keith," Pidge said, chuckling.

Allura laughed as well. She knew that though the two men were getting along better than they ever had, that still wasn't saying much. And Lance and Jeff didn't get along at all, but for Madi's sake, they just avoided one another as much as possible. But everyone else seemed to be getting along just fine, and she was grateful for that.

Her comm crackled and she tapped her earpiece. "Allura."

"Will you have Pidge come up here? We're having trouble in the command room with the mainframe, and Chip wants Pidge to help him," Sven said.

"Yeah, I'll send him up. Everything else okay?"

"Good as it gets," he said and chuckled.

She laughed and signed off, and said to Pidge, "Chip wants you in the command room. Sven said the mainframe isn't behaving itself."

Pidge sighed. "It would really be great if we could get some new computer parts."

"And we will, once we get more established here," she told him. "But for now, please run up and see what's going on."

"Okay." Pidge got up from the bench and headed out of the hangar. It was starting to rain; Allura could see it coming down in streaks. She groaned; she didn't want to get wet, and Arus's rain storms could last for several hours.

As she headed toward Cobalt, something cold swirled through the air, and she stopped, the hairs on the back of her neck rising. She heard Jeff call out to Madi, and saw that Madi had frozen, too. _Dark magic,_ Allura thought. _Very dark magic._

The air in the hangar thickened, and she held her breath as something began to materialize out of it. Hagar, Lotor's witch, came into view, and Lotor along with her. Allura sucked in a breath and tapped her earpiece. "Keith? We've got a situation in the hangar," she whispered. "Lotor and Hagar."

"Stay calm. We're on our way," he told her, his voice brisk.

"Now, princess, you aren't calling for backup, are you?" Lotor asked, walking toward her.

"Stay away from her." Jeff had climbed down from Cobalt's cockpit and was striding toward Allura. "You've no business here." His voice was hard.

Lotor stopped and turned to face him. "Another Mechanical Magician?" He glanced toward Madi, who was watching Hagar. "Brother and sister. How nice." He laughed. "You really think you can stop either of us?"

"Yes, we can," Allura told him. She could feel the magic of Arus welling inside her. "Get out, Lotor. Get off our world."

"Your world." He laughed again. "No, darling Allura, it's not _your_ world. It might've been your ancestors' world, but I can assure you – it's _not_ yours." He gestured toward Hagar, who had eyes on Madi. "You might be powerful, but my witch is stronger."

"We'll see about that." Allura's voice was frosty. "Get off our world, Lotor, and take her with you."

He grinned, and she realized he wasn't leaving, that he had been toying with her. "You don't know what's really going on here, do you?" He pointed up. "While we've been bantering, a number of my warships have entered your atmosphere. And they're all armed."

"We have Voltron," she said.

"And you're welcome to try and use him against me. Go right ahead." He made a motion toward Cobalt. "From what I've heard, the lions have yet to really take to you and yours."

Alarms began ringing through the hangar, and Madi glanced toward Jeff and Allura. Cobalt growled and got to her feet, and Allura was happy to see a shadow of doubt cross the alien prince's face. The big mecha swung her head toward Lotor, and he frowned.

"Allura!" Keith ran into the hangar, followed by Sven, Shannon, and Hutch. Sven went for Cobalt, who swept her ears back and growled at Lotor. Keith, Shannon, and Hutch came to Allura and stood at her sides.

"Amusing," Lotor said. "This changes nothing. Your lions can't defeat me, any more than they were able to defeat my grandfather years ago. You should save yourself some lives and surrender."

"You don't know anything about me," Allura said. She held up a hand, glowing with blue light. "And you will leave, before the lions tear all your precious ships apart."

"Enough." Lotor smiled and tapped his earpiece. "Commence the attack."

"I have to go. Stay with her," Keith ordered the other two men. They both nodded, and he pulled Allura to him. Kissing her, he said, "Be careful."

"You too." She watched him run for the front of the massive hangar, where Onyx was waiting, crouched down, his ears swept back in anger. She glanced at Shannon and Hutch, and nodded toward Lotor. "Evil prince, wants to take over the galaxy."

Hutch snorted. "Yeah, good luck with that, buddy."

"No different than all the tyrants on Earth," Shannon added. He had pulled his sidearm. Hutch did the same.

"Guns." Lotor laughed. "Those won't do you any good, gentlemen."

"Yeah?" Shannon took two steps toward him. "I played a lot of HALO growing up. You know, shooting aliens. You're an alien. I think you see where I'm headed with this." His Irish accent, though not heavy, gave the words a lyrical quality.

"Enough." Lotor motioned to Hagar, and the witch turned toward them. "You're finished here."

"We beg to differ," Hutch said.

"Allura's right. Get off our world," Madi said. She had stepped up beside Jeff, and Allura could see an aura of Arusian magic flowing around her.

"Hagar." Lotor turned to go. "Take care of them."

Hagar nodded and muttered something, and a blast of air hit Jeff and Madi and almost knocked them over. Jeff had her by the elbow, keeping her on her feet, while at the same time pulling his sidearm and aiming it at the witch.

"Enough." Allura channeled her magic toward the witch. It flowed through her whole body, driving deep dark tingles through it. Hagar raised one hand toward the Dukane siblings and one toward her, and let out a screech as she sent her evil magic careening toward them. The blast knocked Hutch and Shannon down, and Allura heard them both swearing as they got back to their feet.

"Shoot her," Shannon ordered, and they opened fire on her. But the bullets fell to the ground five feet short of Hagar, and she laughed, her cackle filling the hangar.

Outside Allura could hear the weapons of the lions going off, saw Flax run by with part of a ship in her mouth. She knew Keith and the team would do their part to keep Lotor from winning this fight, and she had to do hers. She closed her eyes, reaching down for the darkest of the Arusian magic. That there was dark magic wasn't the question – it was _how_ dark the magic could get. Her heart pounded and when she opened her eyes, they glowed an ethereal blue.

"Stand aside," she ordered Shannon and Hutch, and there was enough command in her voice that they nodded and moved further to her sides. "Hagar, you are not welcome here," she said, her voice loud.

Hagar cackled again, and she shouted something out, something old and foreign and mad, and the air in the hangar began to shift and grow black, and Allura started to lose her concentration. She heard Jeff shouting something but couldn't make it out, and she moved toward the middle of the maelstrom, where Hagar was standing, her old wrinkled face just peeking out of her hooded cloak. Pushing back against Hagar's magic, Allura tried to raise hers against it, but Hagar let out a screech, and something hard hit Allura, knocking her backward.

"Easy, lass," Shannon said, catching her around the waist and setting her on her feet.

"Thank you," she said and focused on Hagar again. The old witch was moving toward Jeff and Madi; Madi stood with her eyes closed, her lips forming silent words. Jeff stood just to her side, his gun up, his blue eyes bands of steel.

"Stay back," he ordered.

Madi raised her left hand, spoke something, and a blue glow enveloped Hagar. Allura added her own magic, and the witch tottered on her feet. But only for a second. Then she threw back her head, let out another screech, and the whole hangar began to shake. Allura stumbled and felt Shannon's hand on her arm, steadying her. Hutch moved to her other side.

"Look at the ceiling," he said, pointing up.

The ceiling tiles were shaking; a few broke loose and crashed down behind Madi and Jeff, and he took hold of her hand and they ran over to the other three. "We need to get out of here," Jeff said, looking at Allura. "She'll bring the whole place down."

"No. I'm not going to let her do that." Allura pointed at him. "You're a Magician too, Jeff. You can help us."

"How? I don't know how to tap into the magic," he said.

"Close your eyes," Madi directed him, her voice soft but direct. He gave her a skeptical look as more tiles hit the floor. "Do it," she said. He sighed but shut his eyes, and she looked at Allura. "We need to help him open up to the magic. We can direct it toward him, into him."

"Do what you need to," Shannon said. "We'll cover you."

Allura reached out and took Madi and Jeff by the hands. She closed her eyes and inhaled a deep breath, let it settle, and breathed it out. _Just let it flow. Feel it building inside me._ It was sinuous and strong and weaved all through her body until she couldn't hold it anymore, and she pushed out a breath and directed the flow of Arusian energy into Jeff.

He groaned and almost fell, but she and Madi kept him on his feet, and there was a swelling of magic, Allura knew the other two could feel it, and when she opened her eyes, everything was quiet. Shannon and Hutch were staring at them. She looked over at Hagar, but the old witch was gone.

"Jeff? Are you okay?" Madi asked, touching her brother's shoulder.

He blinked his blue eyes a couple of times, and nodded, the movement slow. "Yeah, I think so. What happened?"

"Did you feel anything?" Allura asked.

He looked at her, his gaze intense. "Felt like something was being shoved into me, into my whole body." He shook his dark head. "Was that the magic?"

"Yes, I believe so," she told him.

"I don't feel anything different now, though. Is that normal?"

"We're not sure what normal is supposed to feel like," Madi told him. "Allura and I are still very new to all this."

"Whatever it is you three did, you scared the old bag outta here," Hutch told them, jerking a thumb toward where Hagar had been. "You three started glowing and she disappeared. Literally."

"Good," Jeff said. There was a growl in his voice. "I don't like the fact those two can pop into our lives at any given moment. We need to figure out how to shield Arus from magical attacks."

"We will," Allura said, nodding. "We better see how the battle is going." They headed to the front of the hangar, and when they stepped out, they saw the five lions landing. The sky above was grey with rain, and the ground was nothing but mud. The five pilots descended and ran for the hangar. Once inside, they pulled their flight helmets off and took a few moments to gather themselves.

Keith looked at Allura. "Everything okay? You guys all right?"

"We are," she said. "How did it go?"

"They ran," Lance said, his voice hot. "They come here and act all big and bad and tough, and split as soon as we show we can fight." He muttered something else under his breath.

"How did you get Hagar to leave?" Sven asked.

"Madi and I were trying to help Jeff with the magic," Allura said. "It must've frightened her or something."

"Yeah, she took right off," Hutch confirmed.

"She took out some of the ceiling before she left," Shannon said, pointing over their heads. "We'll have to repair that."

"I wonder why they ran," Madi mused. "I mean, Lotor told us he had quite the arsenal out there. If that were true, why would just five mecha scare him?"

"I don't know," Keith said, shaking his head. "Maybe he was testing us, seeing what we're made of."

"He's been here before, though," Pidge said. "Why come here just to run? It doesn't make sense. We didn't even do much damage to the fleet."

"Maybe it wasn't about fighting this time," Jeff said, his words slow. "Maybe they were doing something behind the scenes, and the ships, the fleet, were just to cover it up." He looked at Keith. "We've seen that tactic before, back in the Marines."

"We have," Keith said. "And that's a good idea, too. I hadn't thought of that." He ran a hand through his thick black hair. "Why don't we regroup at the castle. I want to make sure things are running smoothly in the control room."

They all nodded, and the group broke up. Madi and Jeff decided to run diagnostics on the lions later that night, and as everyone headed out of the hangar, Keith motioned for Allura to hang back. They watched the others go, and he finally said, "I think Jeff's on to something with that theory. Lotor and Hagar both here, with the fleet? And there were a _lot_ of ships up there."

"But how did they get that close without us tracking them? Seeing them on the radar?"

"Cloaking devices," he said, shaking his head. "Otherwise they should've shown up. But I don't like this. We need to be careful. Do you think you and Madi could sense if there was something magically out-of-place?"

"Maybe. We're still trying to figure out how it all works." And honestly, they were still figuring things out after what had happened with Merla. That Madi had forgiven Allura wasn't the issue; Allura knew she had. But the younger woman was still shaken over what had happened between them, when she'd tried to take the lions away and Allura had taken her down using her full-strength Arusian magic.

"Hey." Keith touched her face. "Everything all right? Did Hagar hurt you?"

"No. I'm not sure she really could, not now, having all the magic." She shook her head. "No, I was thinking about Madi. Things are still a little awkward between us." And that hurt, to an extent. She wanted Madi to trust her.

His gaze softened. "Give her some time, honey. That was a really violent showdown between you two." He leaned down and kissed her. "Come on. Let's go see if we can form a plan with the others."

"Okay." She followed him from the hangar, and they ran through the driving rain up the stairs cut into the canyon wall. They were all in excellent shape, having run up these steps thousands of times now, and when they crested the top and the Castle of Lions came into view, there was a deep sense of _mine_ down through her soul, and she knew she would fight however hard she had to in order to keep her kingdom and her planet safe.


	12. Chapter 12

_I don't own Voltron or its associated characters.  
_

 _A quick word about the controversy that has sprung up over the newest Voltron incarnation and the immediate pairings people are associating with it: everyone should just write what they want. No one can force you to ship Keith/Lance or Keith/Allura. I don't write homosexual relationships - that's my prerogative. Others do. That's their prerogative. Write what you want, and no one can take that away from you. And another thing - don't worry about negative reviews. If you like your story, that should be enough. Each story you write is you learning more about writing, and about what works and doesn't. If someone leaves a nasty review, suck it up and let it be. Some people like to be nasty for no other reason than they're unhappy with their life, and want you to be unhappy too. It sucks, but it's life and reality._

 _So each to their own. Each story that involves Voltron gets woven into a tapestry about him, and we all have unique stories and voices to bring to the weaving. So weave your stories, my friends._

 **CALL OF THE LIONS**

 **SECRETS OF THE LIONS**

 **CHAPTER TWELVE:**

Keith watched his team mingle in the huge living room that they'd managed to restore to somewhat of its formal glory. He'd ceased thinking of it as two different teams – now it was just one, and he thought of it as _his_. He and Jeff had talked about it, and Jeff agreed it made more sense for Keith to be the overall CO, with Jeff being second-in-command. He watched Allura talking to Ginger, Shannon, and Hutch; she glanced at him, and he winked at her, causing her to smile.

"All right, guys, bring it in," he said. The control room was pretty crammed with equipment, and hadn't made a great place to get together; after seeing that it was all in one piece, they'd moved here, to the biggest of the living rooms. He waited until they'd circled up, and nodded toward Jeff. "Jeff thinks the attack was just a diversion for Lotor's real purpose, which could be leaving something behind. Something like monitoring equipment, something magical…" He trailed off and shrugged. "We'll need to do sweeps to see if anything is out-of-place, and Madi and Allura will see if they can sense anything magically out-of-whack."

"Pretty big diversion," Sven said, a frown on his face.

"Yeah," Keith said, nodding. "And we're not sure that's what this was, but it's odd he ran so fast."

"Unless he's afraid of the magic," Ginger said, glancing at Allura. "With them both being so strong, maybe he wasn't prepared for that."

"That could also be the case," Keith said. "The magic is strong here."

"And growing," Allura added. She cast a quick glance at Madi. Madi nodded, a small smile on her face. She was sitting between Lance and Jeff, the two men refusing to look at one another.

Keith heaved a mental sigh. At some point, the two would have to get along. So far it hadn't been a problem, but he knew it made Madison tense, and he wanted his Mechanical Magicians on their A-game. If the two men didn't clear things up themselves, he would have to get involved. And that wasn't the best solution – he wasn't a counselor.

"So we add sweeps into the daily routines?" Sven said.

"Yes. And if anything, at all, looks off, report it. We can't be careless," Keith said. His voice was quiet, but there was steel layered through it. "This is our home, and we're going to protect it."

"Anything else, chief?" Lance reached out to take Madi's hand, and Keith saw Jeff's blue eyes narrow to slits. Lance saw it too, and grinned, kissing Madi's cheek.

"I think that'll do it," he said. Everyone started to get up, and he made his way over to Jeff, Madi, and Lance. "Can I talk to the both of you?" he asked, jerking his head at the two men.

"Sure," Jeff said.

"What for?" Lance asked, frowning. He brought Madi's hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to the palm of it. Keith noticed Jeff tensing.

"Come on," Keith said, not gracing him with an answer.

Lance grumbled beneath his breath and leaned down to give Madi a kiss. She bit her lip and glanced at Jeff, who was glowering by this time. Lance grinned and hugged her. "See you soon, baby," he said, and looked at Keith.

Keith scowled at him and led the two of them from the room and out into the hall. From there they walked down to his office, and he shut the door and turned to them, crossing his arms over his chest. "All right. Enough is enough. I've given you two a month to learn to work together, and I'm ending it. Right now."

"I don't get you," Lance said. There was smugness in his voice, though, and Keith's eyes narrowed into diamond-hard slits.

"Don't cross me," he warned. "You know damn well what I'm talking about, McClain. You're always hugging and kissing on Madison when Jeff's around, and you know he hates that."

Lance's mouth dropped open, and his hazel eyes spit green flames. "She's my girlfriend, Kogane. Of course I'm going to be affectionate."

"Does it have to be when I'm standing a foot away?" Jeff asked.

"Don't stand so close to her," Lance shot back. "That's the real problem here – older brother wants to run his sister's life."

Jeff's cobalt eyes widened and narrowed in the space of a second, and Keith dropped his arms and stepped in between them. "This is what I'm talking about. Your feud is disrupting this team, and I won't have that. You're making Madison tense and nervous, and that's not healthy for our strongest Mechanical Magician. I need her focused."

"This isn't about me," Lance argued. "It's about him wanting to be the only man in his sister's life!"

"That's not true," Jeff said, shaking his head. "If you were decent, I wouldn't mind."

Keith grabbed Lance's fist as it came forward, and Jeff danced backward out of reach. "Knock it off," Keith ordered, shoving Lance backward.

"Yeah, side with him!" Lance said, his face reddening. "You jarheads always stick together!"

"I'm not siding with anyone," Keith said, his voice hard. He turned to Jeff. "And what do you mean, decent? You know he's good to Madi."

Jeff's eyes flickered. "Yeah? Then why have I heard her crying on and off over the last month? And when I confront her about it, she says it's nothing?" His gaze moved past Keith to Lance. "Tell me it's not about you, McClain. Tell me you're not doing something to hurt her."

"She's been crying?" Lance reeled back on his heels. "Trust me, Dukane, I would never knowingly hurt her. Never." He shook his head, and Keith saw bewilderment in his eyes. "I didn't know that."

"Maybe you're not as close as you thought you were, then," Jeff said. "We done here? I should get a sweep schedule set up."

Keith sighed. This wasn't going as he'd planned, or hoped. "Look, you two need to work this out. You both care about Madison – we all do. But trading insults and using her against one another is going to stop. Either you do it, or I will." He looked both men in the eyes, his own hard as rock.

"Fine." Jeff nodded and turned to leave. He slammed the door behind him, and Keith turned to Lance.

"I didn't know she was upset about something," Lance said. "She never said a word to me." He looked at Keith. "Maybe he's right – maybe we're not as close as I thought we were."

"You don't know that," Keith countered. "You need to talk to her before you make assumptions."

"Oh, so now you're handing out romance advice?" Lance shook his head. "Stay out of it, Kogane. You got your own problems." He walked toward the door.

"Hey, what the hell does that mean?" Keith said, his voice hot.

Lance slowed, stopped. Said over his shoulder, "You don't know?" And left the room, slamming the door.

Keith ran a hand through his shaggy black hair and heaved a deep sigh. How had the conversation been turned around on _him_? And what did McClain mean? _Allura and I are happy. I haven't noticed anything off between us._ But was he missing something? Some clue that would've told him otherwise? _Damn him._ Because now that was all he'd think about, until he talked to Allura to find out the truth.

His door opened and his girlfriend stepped in and said, "What was all the yelling about?"

"I told Lance and Jeff they need to get it together so Madison, and the rest of us, can have some peace," he said. He watched her as she approached him, and saw nothing different, nothing that would indicate they were having problems.

"I would say it's mostly on Lance," she said, shrugging. "He likes to do things just to tick Jeff off."

"Yeah, which is what I told him." He put his arms around her and she put her head on his shoulder, and she felt so right up against him that he couldn't breathe for a moment. Not wanting to tell her what McClain had said, and knowing it would bug him if he didn't, he added, "He told me to stay out of his love life, that I had enough problems with mine."

She pulled back and looked up at him. He met her vivid blue eyes, and saw a brief shadow pass through them that punched him in the gut. "Sweetheart? Are we okay?" he whispered.

"We are, and we aren't," she said, and turned away from him. He watched her move away, and his chest burned with pain. "I haven't wanted to say anything because of everything that's going on, but there is something." She turned to face him. His heart pounded. "No, handsome, don't look at me like that," she said and rushed back to take his hands, squeezing them. "I'm not breaking up with you or anything like that. I just, things are different now, with us, ever since Merla took you. I forgave you for that, and you know that. And it's not that. It's the fact that I have all my Arusian powers now. When Merla was using Madi, and they were going to take the lions, when I absorbed all the magic from Arus, it changed me." She lowered her eyes to their joined hands. "I want to be closer to you, in a way that we talked about not being until we're married. And the magic, it's so strong and powerful, that I almost feel like I need to be bonded with someone to help me manage it."

He exhaled a deep breath, feeling like he'd been holding it for too long. "If we do that, honey, if we sleep together, you think that will really help you?" When she raised those devastating blue eyes to him, he added, "Don't get me wrong. I want that as much as you do. I just don't want that to be the reason we're being intimate."

"I know." She turned away, and he let her. "And I don't know for sure that that would work, but we've already talked about getting married. I know we pushed it back because of things going on, but," she turned to face him, "I honestly think it would help, Keith, even if it's not truly legal. I'm sure the team would understand, and once we found someone who could do it legally for us, we'd do it then."

A slow smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Well, I'm pretty sure the team wouldn't mind. Hell, I think most of them think we're being very old-fashioned in waiting until we're married for that."

She smiled in response, and his heart leapt. All he wanted was for her to be happy, and to be his. He opened his arms to her, and she closed the distance between them, and lifted her face to him, and he kissed her. She tasted like sunshine and magic, and he couldn't even begin to ascertain why she had ever chosen him. But he would spend the rest of his life trying to be the best man he could be, because she loved him, and she deserved nothing but his best.

When she drew away, she was flushed, and a strong sense of pride swelled in his chest, knowing he was the reason for it. "I want to do it soon, Keith," she said, her voice low. "In the next few days, if possible."

Concern broke in his eyes. "Are you feeling okay, sweetheart? Is the magic hurting you?" Because that was _unacceptable._

"Not hurting me, no. It's very heavy." She frowned. "It just feels like I'm swelled with it, like I'm oozing it out of my pores." She laughed for a moment. "I know that sounds weird, but that's how it feels."

"Well, it's not oozing out of anything I can see," he assured her, smiling. "I'll call a team meeting tonight, and we'll tell them we're getting married."

The answering smile on her face was almost enough to knock him down. "Wonderful. Love you, handsome."

"Love you too, honey." He watched her leave, and had to sit down. _Married. I'm getting married._ A laugh welled up inside his chest, and he let it out, and elation filled his entire being. He'd loved her since that first day, when he'd stood between her and a bully on the playground, and even the years they'd spent apart hadn't dampened his love for her. She was his other half, his soul mate, and there was nothing he wouldn't do to make her happy.

His door opened and Sven stepped in, and his good mood fled in an instant. "What is it?" he asked.

Sven's countenance was grim, his dark blue eyes flashing. "You need to come see this," he said.

"See what?"

"Come on." Sven turned and left, and with a sigh Keith followed. Sven led him to the control room, and Keith saw everyone else packed inside, all of them looking upset or angry. "This," Sven said, and stepped aside so Keith could see the problem.

His dark eyes widened. "Damn," he whispered.

"That's what we thought," Jeff said.

A large group of people stood in front of the castle. They carried all manner of weapons, and Keith peered harder at the monitor. "Is that Coran?"

"It is," Sven said. His voice was hard. "I don't like the look of this, Keith. They look angry."

Keith took a quiet breath. They hadn't seen Coran since they'd fled from the caves, and he'd hoped the older man had survived the cannibal attack. "I'll go meet with them. The rest of you stay here." He turned toward the door.

"No way you're going out there alone," Allura said. She was frowning. "Lance and I will go with you, since we are the rulers."

"All right." He knew better than to tell her no. He looked at Hunk. "You and Hutch get to the main turret gun to cover us. I hope we don't need it, but this looks pretty shady to me."

"No problem, boss," Hunk said, and nodded to Hutch. The two men left the room, and Keith looked at the rest of his team.

"Pidge, you and Chip stay here and monitor the situation. Jeff, Madi, Shannon, Lisa, Sven, and Ginger – watch our backs from the balconies." He turned to Allura and Lance. "Let's go," he said and left the room.

"We should be armed," Lance said as they walked down the hallway toward the grand foyer.

"No," Allura said, shaking her head. "We don't know what this is about, and I don't want to appear hostile. Coran was nothing but friendly to us. We have no reason to suspect him of doing something to us."

"I agree," Keith said, backing her. _And we've got eyes and guns on them from above if they do prove hostile._ They reached the two massive doors, and he pulled on of them open and motioned Lance and Allura through. As they stepped out onto the wide sweeping steps, Coran and two men broke from the rest of the group and approached them. "Coran, it's good to see you again," Keith called as he followed Allura and Lance down the steps.

"You as well, Commander," Coran said. He bowed his head to Allura and Lance. "I apologize for this large showing – I had intended on just the three of us coming." He nodded to the two men. "This is Jaren and Kalen. They are two of my closest confidantes."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Allura said, shaking hands with the two men. Both tall with dark blonde hair, Keith wondered if they were brothers. "Coran, we've been worried about you. What happened with the cannibals?"

Coran's smile bled from his weathered face. "We had to leave the tunnels and caves, your Highness. The cannibals were too much to handle over the last couple of months. We've been making shelters further north of here, above ground." He paused, and shadows of apprehension passed through his eyes. "We saw Lotor's fleet. Are the lions going to be able to defend us against all those ships? Can you form Voltron yet?"

Keith sighed and shoved a hand through his hair. "We haven't formed him yet. But I swear we will protect your group. This planet is our home now, too."

Coran frowned as the other two men exchanged glances. "With all due respect, Commander, I would've expected more from you by this point." He looked up at the castle. "You've done wonders so far. You all have. But," his gaze found Keith's, "Voltron will be needed to keep the Drules from overrunning this planet."

"We know," Lance said, his voice on the hot side. "As you said, we've been busy. And the lions are temperamental."

"You have a Mechanical Magician," Jaren pointed out.

"Yeah, and she's doing everything she can," Lance told him.

"Actually, we have two Magicians now," Allura said. "Another team from Earth came to stay. Our Magician's older brother was with them."

"Two Magicians," Coran said, wonder in his voice. "You should have no problem forming Voltron now, then." He gave Keith a pointed look.

"We're still figuring things out," Keith told him. He folded his arms over his chest. He wasn't going to let Coran or the other two bully him into saying anything he wasn't able to back.

"Be that as it may, Commander, you know Lotor will be back. You might've staid this planet's death sentence this time, but the Drules will be back for us," Coran told him. There was angry concern in his voice. "I want to know that my people are safe."

" _Your_ people?" There was disbelief in Lance's voice. "I believe they're _our_ people," he said, nodding to Allura. "And we'll keep you safe. You can trust us."

"We'll trust you after we see how you handle protecting us," Jaren said. His dark eyes were narrow slits. Kalen mirrored his look.

Before Lance could retort, Allura stepped in. "Gentlemen, we are doing everything we can to ensure the safety of Arus, and of you. I promise you that. But it takes time to get everything working again. Our Magicians are doing their very best to bring the lions back to their former glory. I assure you of that." Her voice was low and calm, and Keith saw the tension leave the other three men. Even Lance looked more relaxed. "We just ask for faith," she added.

Coran smiled. "We are trying to do just that, your Highness. I'm sorry again for this show of force." He glanced upward, and his smile became deeper. "But it would seem you likewise weren't too sure of us."

"We didn't know why you were visiting us," Keith said, shrugging one shoulder. "And I'm not willing to be unprepared."

"That is a good policy, Commander," Coran said, nodding. "We'll take our leave now." He nodded toward Jaren and Kalen. They were both frowning, but they turned and headed back to the other group. Coran waited until they were out of earshot, and added, "Forgive them for their uncertainty in your ability to protect us. It's been just us for a very long time, and they want to see the lions flying and forming Voltron."

"We understand that," Allura said. She still spoke in the same low and calm voice. "Is there anything else we can do to make your group feel safer?"

"No, I don't think so." Coran reached out to take her hand and squeezed it. "Thank you . I'll be in touch with you soon." He let go of her hand and turned to leave.

"You're welcome here at the castle anytime," Allura told him. "And if there is an attack, know that you guys can come here, and we'll shelter you inside."

He stopped and turned half-way to look at her. "Thank you, your Highness. That is most welcome." Then he continued his way back to his group.

Lance huffed out a sigh. "Nice going, AC. I wanted to take a swing at 'em myself."

Allura shrugged. "This is their home, Lance. They need to feel safe, especially now that they're above ground." She met Keith's eyes. "And we need to figure out how to form Voltron. I know you guys have been working on it, but maybe Madi and Jeff need to spend more time with the lions. There has to be something missing."

"I know." Keith was watching the large group of people leave. He tapped his earpiece. "Hunk, you guys can come down from the gun. It's okay now."

"All right."

"Jeff, you guys can stand down. It's okay," Keith said.

"You sure?" Jeff's voice crackled through the comm.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"All right."

"So what now?" Lance asked. "I mean, we spend all our waking hours trying to get the lions to form up?"

"We do whatever it takes," Keith told him. "We need to make the lions understand us. We need Voltron."

"We can't force 'em to do something they don't want to," Lance said. "You know how well that works."

"I know." Keith turned toward the castle. "Jeff, get the team together again, in the big living room. We've got something to discuss."

"I thought you wanted the team doing sweeps," Jeff said.

"This takes precedence for right now."

"Okay, you got it."

"So we're just gonna drop everything else because Coran and his groupies are worried about us not protecting them?" Lance's voice was filled with animosity. "You're just cow-towing to him."

"No, I'm not."

"Yeah right."

Keith stopped, spun around, and only just stopped himself from nailing the upstart pilot in his face. "Look, I want to make those people safe. They're _your_ people, McClain. You should want them to be feel safe, to be safe." He tried to keep his tone calm, but when McClain's hazel eyes dimmed, he knew he hadn't.

"I want that too, Kogane. But considering that Lotor and his fleet jetted when we confronted them, I think doing sweeps is more important than having Madi and Dukane locked up in the hangar working with the lions." Lance scowled. "Because that's what you're planning to do."

"You're just mad you won't get as much time with Madison," Keith shot back.

Allura stepped between them. "Knock it off, both of you," she ordered. "We're going to discuss our next move like the rational people we are." She pointed at the castle. "So go."

Lance murmured something derogatory about Keith but moved off toward the castle, and when Keith made to follow him, Allura took his hand and held him back. "What is it, honey?" he asked.

"We shouldn't say anything about getting married," she said. "We've got enough things going now, and throwing that into the mix will make them unfocused."

He touched her cheek. "But you need help, right? If I can help you carry some of that magical burden, then damn it, honey, I'm going to."

She stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his for a moment. "I love you, Keith Akira Kogane, but the team comes first. It always has, and it always will. It has to, if we're going to make it here."

He knew how sound her reasoning was, but he hated that she was suffering for it. "We'll talk about it later, okay? I'm not giving your safety and happiness up just for the others."

She gave him a tired smile. "Come on, before Lance gets everyone riled up and Jeff ends up killing him."

"Maybe that'd be for the best," he muttered, and she punched his shoulder. "What? I'm just saying it would make my life easier, and Jeff's too."

"And then one of our Magicians wouldn't be happy."

"Yeah, but the other one would be. It's a risk I'm willing to take." He flashed a grin at her when she sighed, and followed her into the castle. Yes, if he allowed Dukane to take out McClain, things would be much quieter and uneventful around here, and maybe then he and Allura could have some peace. The thought made him grin all the more.


	13. Chapter 13

_I don't own Voltron, or any of its characters.  
_

 _I know some of you have questions about characters and relationships, and all I can say is: they will get resolved. Sometime. ;-)_

 **CALL OF THE LIONS**

 **SECRETS OF THE LIONS**

 **CHAPTER THIRTEEN:**

Allura sat on the arm of one of the three couches they'd managed to salvage and listened as her boyfriend talked to the team. She could already see that Lance, Sven, and Jeff didn't agree with just concentrating on the lions, and she wasn't sure that was their best bet. Yes, they needed Voltron. But they also had other duties, such as performing sweeps for anything hidden by Lotor.

"How can we form Voltron when the lions don't behave?" Pidge asked. "I mean, half the time I'm lucky if I can get Jade to do anything I want her to. Even when we're fighting, she just takes control."

"Yeah, same with Flax," Hunk said, shaking his head. He looked at Sven. "And Cobalt has never been easy to work with."

"No, she hasn't. But," Sven looked at Keith, "we need to do sweeps. Let Madi and Jeff work on the lions."

"We have been," Madi said. "But if we had all of the pilots there at the same time, that might help."

"So you agree with Keith, then," Sven said, looking at her.

"I do."

"Shannon, you're in charge of the sweeps," Keith said. "You can take Hutch, Chip, Ginger, and Lisa with you."

"One team? You know how long that will take?" Jeff shook his head. "We need more people on this, Keith, and you know it." His voice was hard. "I realize getting Voltron formed up is important, but you can't deny that finding out whether or not Lotor left something behind isn't just as important."

Allura saw Keith's dark eyes narrow, and she said, "Keep it civil. I can help with the sweeps while you guys work with the lions. Learning how to make them form Voltron is the most important thing we can do, so that if we do find something left over from Lotor, we'll be able to handle it."

"Like those robeasts," Madi said, her voice soft.

"Yes," Allura said, nodding. She looked at Keith, and saw him relaxing.

"Let's get to it. We're wasting daylight," he said. "Lion pilots and Magicians, meet in the hangar in ten. Shannon, you're in charge of the sweep team." He left the room, and Allura started to go after him, but saw Lance and Madi in some sort of argument. She paused, not sure she wanted to get involved in their private life, and not sure she could walk away. Deciding to wait it out, she stepped from the room and waited five minutes. Madi came out first, looking distraught and angry, and Allura let her go.

"Rocks," she said when Lance soon followed. He stopped, turned to face her, and she almost lost her nerve. Almost. "What's going on with you two?"

"None of your damned business," he growled and turned away.

"Stop, right there," she ordered. She wasn't sure he would stop, but he did, and spun around to face her.

"Look, just stay out of it, alright? It doesn't concern you," he snapped.

Her blue eyes narrowed, and she put her hands on her hips. "It does concern me, Lance, because we need Madi thinking clearly so she and Jeff can get the lions to behave. And if she's fighting with you, then she's not in a good place." She took a step closer to him. "And I _need_ her in a good place."

He laced his fingers together behind his head and sighed. "Yeah, yeah, it's all about her, isn't it?" Defiance snarked through his voice. "You sound just like your boyfriend. Madi this, and Madi that. She's _my_ girlfriend, damn it, not yours, or his. Whatever this is, it's between her and me. End of story." He turned on his heel and strode off down the hall, and Allura spit out a few choice words before collecting herself and heading toward the foyer. She would see how Madi was doing later, and if not better, she'd force the younger woman to talk to her.

She met up with Shannon and the others on the sweep team in the foyer, and Shannon went over what he wanted them to do. Allura listened with one ear. She was too busy trying to figure out just what was going on between Rocks and Madi. _We have to have her and Jeff in their best mental state, or the lions aren't going to cooperate. We know that already, so why is Lance being such a jerk about it?_

"Allura." She looked up to see the ex-Navy SEAL watching her, and bit her lip. "Did you hear anything I said?" Shannon asked.

"No," she admitted.

He looked irritated for a few seconds, and then relaxed. "There's a lot going on. I understand that. But if you're not focused while we're out there, you could get hurt. I want you to stay with me."

"I'm fine," she snapped out.

His dark eyes, like big blackberries, lit up, and she took an involuntary step back. She didn't know much about him, except that he'd been a SEAL, and he was therefore dangerous. He took a deep breath, and relaxed. "You don't know me real well yet, but I promise you – you don't have to be afraid of me. I can tell the good guys from the bad." He offered her a quiet smile, and she relaxed and smiled back.

"Thank you for that," she said. "I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention, but I really am quite capable of handling myself."

"I'm sure you are," he agreed. "But you should know that if anything happened to you, Kogane would kill first and ask second." There was humor twinkling in his deep dark eyes now.

She blushed. "I know he would, so to be fair to you, I'll stick kind of close. Deal?"

"Deal." He flashed a grin. "All right, let's go. I already sent the other four on ahead."

They left the foyer and she tried to study the SEAL from her peripheral. He was tall, taller than either Keith or Jeff, and rangy with thick black hair. He had a temper; she'd seen it one of the first days the new team had been here, when Lance had said something off-color to Ginger. It was clear Shannon was smitten with the Navy fighter pilot, and she with him, and Lance had been quick to take back his smart-ass remark. Allura smiled. It'd been one of the few times Rocks had ever apologized for his behavior.

Shannon glanced at her. "If you want to know something, just ask," he told her.

 _Fair enough, then._ "How long were you in the SEALS?"

"Long enough."

"How did you end up working for Foxx?"

"Something different."

She frowned and he laughed. "You know, you're not funny," she told him.

"Oh, and here I thought I was being charming," he told her. "I was in the SEALS for six years. Long enough to know I didn't want that life anymore," he said. "I was looking for something different, and my CO suggested going into Foxx's program."

She considered this. "You hadn't heard of Foxx? Or just didn't care?"

Shannon gave her a long sideways look. "Oh, I'd heard of him. I'm not sure anyone in the military hasn't. But I figured, why the hell not? What did I have to lose? And you have to admit, working for someone like that has its high notes." He chuckled. "I mean, he's building a version of Voltron."

Allura rolled her eyes at him. "Yes, but he wants to use his version to conquer the entire universe."

"I never said he wasn't mad or tyrannical." Shannon stopped, squinting his dark eyes. "Up there. You see that?"

She looked the way he was pointing, and something shuddered in her stomach. "That doesn't look normal."

"No, it sure doesn't. Come on." He started climbing up through the rocks, and she followed, not liking what she'd seen. When they reached the top of the plateau, she took a deep breath. There was a small device of some sort, boxy and sitting on a tripod, and Shannon held a hand to her. "Stay back," he said, his voice quiet steel, and she stood her ground, waiting for him to make an assessment. He was the SEAL after all, and she knew he'd handled things like unknowns out in the field. Shannon made his way around the device, and soon crouched down next to it. She saw him mutter something under his breath and shake his head.

"What is it?" she asked, not moving closer.

"Nothing," he told her. "A decoy or something. There's nothing to it." He sighed. "Better keep moving. I'm not sure how far out Kogane wants us to go."

"Around the castle perimeter at least," she said. She walked over to the tripod and bent down, studying the box. It spoke to Shannon's confidence in his assessment that he let her get that close. "I guess it couldn't be this easy."

"No." He was already moving off toward a grouping of huge boulders, and she followed, but wondered how they would find anything out here.

An hour later, and having met with the other four, they were no closer to finding anything. "Is it possible Lotor just did it because he knew we'd freak over it?" Ginger asked.

"Anything's possible," Allura said. "What do you think?" she asked Shannon.

He studied the surrounding area. "I think that's a possibility, yes. And I think we've still got a lot of ground to cover. Split up into teams of two, and keep looking. Anything that looks unusual or suspicious, you get me on the radio." He nodded off toward the direction of the castle. "They've got enough to deal with, so this is on us."

Chip and Ginger headed out, and Lisa and Hutch picked another direction and set off. Allura crossed her arms over her chest. "You know, you don't have to babysit me. I know you'd rather be partnered with Ginger."

He shook his head. "Not when I need to concentrate," he told her. "We try to keep our personal lives separate from our working ones." His tone was even, but she wondered if he was thinking of Madi and Lance's relationship.

 _Or mine and Keith's,_ she mused. She knew they tended to let theirs intervene with their working one, and that sometimes, that wasn't a good thing. "So where do you want to look now?" she asked, directing him away from any further thoughts of relationships.

"Over there," he said. He pointed off toward a massive rock formation where a few scrub trees were struggling to survive. "It would be a good spot for a camera or something – it would have the castle and the hangar in its line-of-sight." He started moving off without waiting for her input, but she was okay with that.

It took them a good hour to reach the rocks, and another twenty minutes to climb to their top. She accepted his hand when he offered it; the ground they'd been on was hard to negotiate, and rock climbing wasn't so much her thing. Once they were on the top, Shannon nodded, more to himself than to her.

"Yeah," he murmured, and waved toward the forward point of the plateau they stood on. "Stay behind me until we know for sure what this is," he said.

Allura could see something sitting on another tripod, but this one was smaller, and hidden from view by the scrub bushes around it. She could see that the box on the tripod had a lens on it, and was pointed toward the castle and hangar, just as he'd said it would be. She watched while he circled it, his dark eyes assessing as he moved. Finally, he stopped next to it and ran his hands over it.

"Camera of some kind," he told her once he'd walked a fair distance away from it. His voice was low. "My guess is it's a live feed, so they can see what we're up to."

Allura's stomach twitched. "They want to see if we can form Voltron." She nodded toward the distance hangar. "We'd probably try to form him on the flat near the hangar, so Madi and Jeff could watch." She sighed. "Pretty genius, actually."

"Yeah it is." Shannon ran a hand over his face. "So the question is, what do we do with it? We move it, at all, they'll know we're on to them."

Something moved in the scrub bushes off to their left, and Shannon spun on his heel, his firearm already in his hand. "Come out," he ordered, taking a step so Allura was behind him.

She gritted her teeth. She was capable of handling herself. She took a step to her right, just enough so she could see around him. If he noticed, he didn't move. He repeated his order, but nothing appeared, and he started toward the bushes. Allura drew her own gun, and stayed just behind him, off to his side. As they approached the bushes, they could hear a distinct whirring sound, something definitely mechanical. Right before Shannon got a foot into the tall bushes, a bare metal arm shot out and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off the ground.

A huge metal man stepped out of the bushes. Allura lined up a shot on his head, but didn't pull the trigger for fear of ricochet and hitting Shannon, who was struggling to get loose. She holstered her weapon and ran at the robot instead, hitting him low in the legs. He swayed, and it was enough loss of balance for him to loosen his grip. Shannon got loose and dropped to the ground, and Allura grabbed his arm and led him away from the robot.

Shannon coughed and gasped, and Allura pulled her sidearm and fired at the metal man, making sure the angle wouldn't allow for them to get hit if it did ricochet. The bullet hit the man square through the left eye. It turned its head toward them, and she knew all she'd done was irritate it. "Come on," she urged, grabbing Shannon's hand and running back toward the edge of the plateau.

"H-hold up," Shannon wheezed, and turned back toward the robot. It was staring after them, not moving. He took his sidearm from its holster and fired, putting a round through its right eye. They both waited; the robot stood still, and they could still hear the clicking and whirring of machinery from somewhere within it. Shannon started edging toward it.

Allura wasn't sure about this, but she followed along, gun sighted up on the robot's chest – just in case. When Shannon was a few feet away, he stopped and studied the machine, and she did too, still uneasy with their proximity to it. It was tall, as tall as he was, and solid. Its head was humanoid, and it had had big yellow eyes. Those eyes were nothing but dark holes now.

Something clicked deep within its body, and its left arm split sideways at the forearm, a gun barrel sliding out of its upper arm. It raised its arm and fired.

Shannon and Allura hit the ground at the same time. "Get into the bushes," he ordered, and she shook her head. No, they were facing this monstrosity together. If she got hurt, oh well. Keith would just have to deal. Shannon glared at her, but said nothing else, and they both scuttled closer to the machine, as it appeared its range with the weapon wasn't close up. Shannon put his gun to its right leg and fired right into it, and the bullet penetrated and blew out the back of the leg. The machine tottered but kept its feet. Allura hit the left leg with a bullet from her weapon, and the robot swayed until Shannon shoved it and it toppled over backward.

"Well, that was easy," he said, getting to his feet. The machine had stopped firing, but they could still hear something moving within the massive framework. "Easy," he cautioned Allura as they walked around it. The robot started trembling, and then shaking, and Shannon launched himself at her, and grabbing her, threw her down on the ground. He fell on top of her and she heard a muted explosion, but there was no heat or debris. Shannon waited a few moments, and pulled back, looking down at her. "Did I hurt you?" he asked.

"No," she said. "Thank you. That was some fast reflexes."

He got to his feet and hauled her to hers. "Years of training." He turned to the machine. It looked fine, but black smoke wafted from its left arm where it was split and its two eye sockets. "Damn it," he murmured. "I bet it was programmed to blow its internal circuitry if compromised." He swore again, softer. "I think it's down for the count." He kicked it a couple of times. "Yeah."

"So what now?"

"We need to get it back to the hangar, and see if anyone can make sense of its wiring and circuits. It might've been left to monitor us, too." He paused, rubbing at his chin. "And it was probably supposed to protect that camera."

"Hunk, Hutch, Pidge and Chip should be able to do something with it," she said. She looked around. "Do we leave the camera here, too? Or should we take that?"

"I don't know. It's really your call, being the princess and all," he said. She saw that he was serious with her title, and there was no disrespect in his voice.

"Let's leave it." She pointed at the bushes. "Let's drag Mr. Roboto here back into the bushes, so if they do a flyover, they won't see it down."

He gave her an admiring look. "Excellent plan," he said. As they hauled the metal monster back into the bushes, she noticed he was humming the old Styx song, "Mr. Roboto," and laughed.

"What? I like that song," he said, grinning. "Plus, it's a great nickname for this thing."

Once they finished with that, they started making their way down from the high plateau, Shannon going first and making sure she was safe coming down the rocks. Once they were both down, she looked up at him. "Thank you, for everything up there. You're a good man to have around, Lieutenant O'Brien."

He smiled. "You're welcome. It's just good training." He turned. "We should get going. I'll call in the other teams, ask if they've found anything."

"You think they might've left more than one monitor?"

"That was a massive fleet Lotor brought with him. I'd guess he'd want to leave more than one camera," he said. He tapped his earpiece, and she could hear him hailing Hutch, his voice quiet and firm.

She left him to it, and contemplated what they'd just seen. She wasn't surprised that the robot had been left behind. Lotor would want to protect his monitoring equipment. _Hopefully the guys can take a look at its inner workings and get some information about it._

"What? Calm down, Chip. What happened?" Shannon's voice was low. "We found one of those, too." He listened for a moment. "There was a large robot man guarding the camera we found. Anything like that?"

Allura moved a step closer and watched him. For someone with as proper military bearing as he had, he also wore his emotions out front. She could see the tension in his jaws, the flash of unease in his dark eyes.

"Okay, just stay where you are. No, I can find you. Just keep an eye out for anything else. We'll be there soon." He took a deep breath and let it out trickle out of his mouth. He looked down at Allura. "Chip said they found a camera set-up similar to this one."

"Is there a robot guardian there, too?"

"No." He shook his head. "But there's something going on, and Chip wasn't being real clear about what it is." He looked over her head, back toward the castle. "Why don't you head back, and tell Keith what we found? We'll have to have one of the lions carry that robot."

"Are you sure we should split up?" Normally she'd have no problem going off on her own, but knowing there were cameras watching them, and that Lotor had also left behind robot warriors, made her nervous. "What if you need help?"

"No, we'll be alright," he assured her. "We'll be in touch." He turned and started off, and she took a deep breath and started back toward the castle.

If Shannon said he could handle things, then she knew he could. She just hoped whatever was going on wasn't anything bad – they had enough to handle right now. _And that includes Lance and Madi not getting along. I need to find out what the problem is, and fix it._ Squaring her shoulders, she stepped up her pace. They all needed to be on the same page. _But what about Keith and I? I really need his help with this whole magic thing, and now it looks like he's completely focused on getting the lions to form Voltron._ Which was, of course, important. But she needed him, and it was beginning to feel like he was more interested in helping the team out instead of her.

 _Which is ridiculous. I know that's not how he really feels._ But the magic was dark, and heavy, and it whispered to her through the nights and days, and she was exhausted because of it. Was there some way to calm it down, to make it relax? It seemed like the journals might've had some answers, but she hadn't found time to really go through them for solutions. She wanted to get married, to be truly physical with Keith. He was her soul mate – there would never be another man for her. But did he still feel that way toward her? That she was his soul mate? Things had been different since Merla had taken him, and though he claimed nothing had changed, she wasn't completely sure of that.

Trudging onward toward her home, she decided that they needed some real time together, away from everyone else. Maybe they could manage to get away for a night or something. Jeff could be in charge of their team for that long. Satisfied with that plan, she focused on her task at hand – getting to the hangar and telling the others what they had found.


	14. Chapter 14

_I don't own Voltron, in any of its forms. Madison Dukane belongs in my toy box, though.  
_

 _Here is the next installment. Hopefully I've still got some readers enjoying this :-)_

 **CALL OF THE LIONS**

 **SECRETS OF THE LIONS**

 **CHAPTER FOURTEEN:**

Keith sat in Onyx's cockpit, his dark eyes on the control console. So far, they'd had zero luck with getting the lions to form Voltron. They'd had no luck even getting the lions to communicate with their pilots, or each other. He huffed out a deep breath. _Come on, Black. What is with you guys today? Why the silence? Why won't you just do what we tell you?_

As expected, he got nothing in return. He glanced out the side window and saw Jeff and Madi with their eyes closed, and he stopped himself from scoffing. They weren't getting through to the mechas. This was just a waste of time.

He got out of the cockpit and slid down to the ground. Jeff opened his eyes and looked at him, and Keith could see a flash of stubbornness in his friend's dark blue eyes. He walked over to them. "This is getting us nowhere."

Jeff nodded toward Onyx. "We won't know if you don't stay in there." His voice was firm.

Keith ran a hand through his shaggy black hair. "I can tell, Dukane. Onyx is done for the day."

Madi opened her eyes and sighed. "He's right, Jeff. I can sense the lions, and they're not having any of this." She glanced toward the red lion. "They might as well all get out."

Keith touched his earpiece. "Everyone out. I think we're done for now."

One by one, the other four pilots climbed down from their lions, and met the other three. "So what gives, anyway?" Lance asked. He looked at Jeff and Madi. "I thought you two were supposed to make them do it." There was some accusation in his voice.

Jeff took a step toward him. "It's not that easy, McClain. They're sentient. They have a mind of their own. You know that." His voice was even, but just.

"Enough," Keith barked. "We'll figure it out. But for now, we're done."

"Take his side," Lance murmured, but it was loud enough for them all to hear, and Keith looked at him. "Yeah, you heard me," Lance added.

"You really want to do this now?" Keith said.

Lance spread his arms wide. "Why not, Commander? Why not get all this out into the open?" He jerked his head toward Madi. "You wanna know why the lions won't work? Ask Madison over there." He folded his arms over his chest, a petulant look on his face.

Keith sighed. "Fine. Let's just do this already." He nodded to Madi. "Madison, what's going on here?"

She started to say something, stopped, and then pointed. "There's Allura, by herself."

Keith followed her line of sight and his heart staggered a little. Why was she alone? Had something happened to Shannon, or the others? He forgot about the current situation as he ran toward his girlfriend. Allura stopped and looked up at him as he approached, and he slowed. She looked tired, but okay, not hurt.

"Hey, honey," he said when he reached her. "What's wrong?"

"We found a camera," she told him. "And a huge robot guarding it."

"Are you okay? Where's Shannon?"

"He went to look at something that Chip and Ginger found." She looked past him toward the others. "What's going on?" She looked up at him. "I take it the lions didn't cooperate?"

"No." He sighed. "We got absolutely zero out of them today." He lowered his voice. "Lance told me to ask Madison about it."

Allura shook her head. "They need to resolve their issues." She pointed at the lions. "Maybe I can use my magic to wake them up a little."

"About that." He reached out and took hold of her hand. "I still want this marriage to happen. I know I got crazy when Coran said we need to form Voltron, but apparently that's not going to happen anytime soon, at least not until the lions decide to cooperate." He tipped her chin up, and brushed his lips across hers. "But you and I getting married – that can happen." He smiled down at her.

She dropped her gaze, and he knew something was wrong. It wasn't a good feeling. "Allura, what's wrong? I thought you wanted to get married?"

"I do." She met his eyes. "But you don't seem as into the idea as I am."

He sucked in a breath. "Yes I am. Why would you say that?"

"You've been different with me since I gained all my magic," she said. "I know the brightness of my eyes bothers you. Don't deny it – you won't meet my gaze a lot of the time now. I forgave you for what happened with Merla. That wasn't your fault. But I'm not sure you've forgiven yourself." She sighed. "I just want us to be in-tune with one another, and right now, at this moment, I don't think we are."

"So you want to wait, then?" Irritation was flaring inside him, and he tried to push it down. He wasn't irritated with her – he was with their situation. With the lions. "Maybe we need to get out of here for a while. A weekend."

"And go where?"

"Anywhere. Just take Onyx and go. Jeff can handle the day-to-day routine of things for a few days. We need to really reconnect. I love you, honey. You know that. But we're stressed. Really stressed. Some time away would do us good." He kept his voice soft, low.

She bit her lip. "I would love that, to be honest. I miss you, but I feel like we're so swamped that we can't just have time to ourselves."

"Then let's go. We'll run a scan of the area, find somewhere that looks nice. We can pack, and get out of here tonight."

"Is it okay to take Onyx?"

"Yes." He didn't hesitate. "I'm the CO, and he's my lion." His voice was firm, and he reached out to touch her silken cheek. "What do you say?"

She smiled and stretched up to kiss him. "I say it sounds amazing, handsome."

"Let's go." He took her hand and turned back toward the others, and he saw that some kind of argument was going on. He heaved a deep sigh. "And I think the team just needs a few days off too. We're all stressed, and even the lions are feeling it."

"We need to get things resolved between Lance, Jeff, and Madi, too," she said. "That could be why the lions are so out-of-sorts."

"Yeah, I agree." They reached the others, and he said, "All right, what's goin on now?"

"Nothing new," Pidge said in a low tone. "Jeff and Lance are arguing and Madi is trying to make them play nice, and Lance keeps telling her to stay out of it."

Allura walked forward toward the others. Hunk backed up, giving her space. Lance looked at her, and Keith saw the irritation on his face. "Enough is enough," Allura said when Lance opened his mouth. "I want to know _right now_ what the problem is. We're not leaving here until we work this out." She pointed at Madi. "Madison, what's wrong?"

Madi stared at the ground, her arms crossed tight over her chest. "Lance is blaming us for the lions not working, and it's not our faults. We can't force them into doing something." She raised her hazel eyes to Allura. "I think by forcing them so hard, we're causing them to rebel."

"Which is ridiculous," Lance said, shaking his head. "I know they're sentient, but they're still _robots_. We can still control them."

"Yeah? And how's that working out so far?" Jeff asked. His voice was hard but level, and his gaze flicked to Keith for a second, who had walked up to stand next to Allura.

Lance's eyes slitted. "Look, Madi was doing a great job with them until you and your crew showed up. So maybe it's _you_ they don't like. Maybe you need to get out of here."

Keith stepped in-between the two men and shook his head. "No. We're not going there. Jeff is a Mechanical Magician like Madi is. I think Madi's on to something. Maybe we're not asking them the right way to do things."

"We're not asking them at all," Pidge said, walking up.

"He's right," Sven chimed in. He'd been silent up until then, watching and listening. "We've been trying to force the lions into working and forming Voltron. Maybe that's not how to do it."

"So what do you suggest? Sitting them down for tea?" Lance's voice rose. "This is just stupid."

"McClain, stand down," Keith ordered. He looked at Madi. "You're the closest person to them, Madison. What do you suggest we do?"

She took a deep breath. "Give me some time with them, alone. Let me talk to them."

"Sounds fair," Allura said, nodding. "Everyone but Madi, let's go up to the castle. I've got news about things Shannon and I found. I can fill you all in."

Lance huffed out a breath and turned and stomped off toward the castle. Sven smiled and followed him, Hunk and Pidge falling in behind. Jeff waited until they were all out of earshot.

"I know I'm knew to this, but I also know I'm meant to do this," he said, looking at Keith and Allura. "I just want to help as much as I can."

"We know," Keith said, nodding. "We trust you." He shifted his gaze to Madi. "Do what you need to, Madison. You've got our full cooperation. We need them running right."

"Okay." She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry about all the drama with Lance and me. It's just something we need to work through. We'll try to keep it between us and out of work." Her voice was quiet and earnest, and Keith smiled.

"It's okay. We just need everyone on-point so that we can be ready the next time Lotor comes back." He paused. "Because he will come back. I think we all know that."

"We do," Jeff said. He gave Madi a quick one-armed hug. "Hang in there, sis."

She nodded and turned toward the five lions. "I'll see you guys later."

They watched her walk away, and Keith turned to Jeff. "Allura and I are going to take a few days off, get away from everyone and thing."

Jeff smiled. "I wondered when you'd do that. It's been crazy around here, and you two look like you need some couple time. Don't worry – we'll keep things running here."

"You and Lance can behave?" Allura asked.

"It'll hurt, but yeah," he said, grinning now. "I know he really does care about Madison. I just want him to know if he hurts her, he's dealing with me."

"Just keep him busy," Keith said. "He can be a jerk, but keeping him busy is the key."

"Oh, I can do that." Jeff laughed. "When will you go?"

"Tonight. Madi can still work with the other four, and I want Onyx with us in case of trouble," Keith told him.

"I'd want him, too." Jeff's tone turned serious. "We'll take care of things here, no worries."

"Thanks." Keith looked at Allura. "We better get up to the castle. You need to tell us about the camera and the robot guardian."

"Robot guardian? Sounds serious," Jeff said as the three of them headed up toward the hangar.

"We took care of it, but it got a hold of Shannon for a few moments and roughed him up. He's okay, but we need to find out if there are more of them here," Allura said.

"It didn't hurt you, did it?" Keith asked.

"No, but it was aggressive. It had a gun buried in its arm," she told the two men. "Chip and Ginger had found something, so Shannon sent me back here and went to find them. And we hadn't heard from Lisa and Hutch."

Jeff seemed to stiffen for a few seconds as they walked, and then he blew out a breath. "I'm sure they're fine. They can handle themselves."

"They can," Keith said, nodding, trying to be reassuring. Though Jeff and Lisa had never come right out and said they were a couple, it was generally accepted that they were. Sven had been very disappointed with this. And Ginger and Shannon were very cozy too, which Sven had also been chagrined to learn about. That was one thing about coming to a mostly deserted planet – there weren't a lot of dating options here.

"What else?" Jeff asked.

"We think the camera is transmitting to wherever Lotor has a receiver set up, which could be on Planet Doom," Allura said. "We didn't want to move it, because we don't want to give away that we're on to them."

"We should go get the robot, though," Keith said. "I wouldn't want it to reboot and start running around here."

"We'll need one of the lions," Allura told him. "It's very large and heavy." They had reached the hangar and they started up the path to the castle. It was late afternoon now, and the sun was starting to slide a little toward the horizon. She glanced back over her shoulder.

"She'll be fine," Keith murmured. He hoped their younger Magician could coerce the lions into working, but wasn't positive she could.

Allura said nothing, and he reached out and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. _We really need to get away from all this,_ he thought. They were both more stressed than what they probably realized, and he was all at once desperate to get in Onyx and just go. But they needed to speak with the team, and they would need to pack. He tapped his earpiece. "Shannon. You there?"

A burst of static met his ears, and he frowned. "Shannon?" Allura looked up at him, and Jeff stopped to turn and face him. "Hutch? Lisa? Ginger? Chip?" Still nothing, and his heart beat faster. It was possible they were out of their comm's reach, but he doubted it. Pidge and Chip had built them, and they were pretty much outstanding.

"You think they all ran into trouble?" Jeff asked, and there was concern in his voice.

"I wouldn't think so, but no one's answering their comms," Keith said, shaking his head. "I think we'd better get to the control room and run a scan."

They hurried now, and Keith hoped that the rest of their team was safe and sound in the castle, and just not responding for some reason. But when they entered the castle, they saw no one, and Lance, Sven, Pidge, and Hunk were no longer answering their comms, either. Keith swore under his breath. "Come on. Let's go run scans," he said, and they hurried to the control room. No one was there, either, and no one was answering the hails on their radios. "Damn it," Keith growled. "You better check in with Madi," he told Jeff.

"Madison? This is Jeff. Are you okay?" Jeff asked, pacing back and forth across the old tiled floor. "Madison, answer me." But he finally stopped pacing and looked at Keith. "She's not coming online, either."

"And there's no signature down by the lions," Allura said, her fingers dancing over the control boards. "I can't find anyone else but us three."

Keith and Jeff looked at one another, and Keith knew he and his girl weren't getting away for the next couple of days. They weren't getting away, period. Where had his team gone? "Where the hell could they be?" he murmured.

"I don't know, but we better find them," Jeff said. "Allura, do you think this could be some sort of magical attack?"

She closed her eyes for a few moments. "I don't feel anything off," she finally said. "It still could be, but the magic isn't registering, and Hagar's magic is black, and it's heavy. It should be easy to pick up, if this was something she did."

Keith turned to the control consoles and started pulling up the weather radar. "Don't see any storms that could've knocked out the comms, and like Allura said, there's no heat signatures."

"I don't like this," Jeff said, and he leaned against the main console. "How does a whole group of people just disappear?"

"I don't know, but we need to figure this out, now," Keith said. He spoke in a quiet, firm voice. "And we stay together. Three is better than one. Agreed?"

"You're the CO," Jeff told him, nodding. "Everyone got a sidearm?"

"I do," Allura said, nodding. "Where do we start?"

"Here. We search the castle first, and then look at the surrounding areas. Maybe they haven't gone far."

"Lead on," Jeff said. His voice was neutral, calm – his Marines voice. Keith knew it well. He led the way out of the control room, Allura in-between the two of them, and he prayed that they could solve this problem quick. He and Allura needed alone time. They searched the floor the control room was on, and then started sweeping the others. One by one, they checked off each room of the castle, each floor.

 _This is ridiculous. Where in the hell could they have gone?_ His patience was starting to grow thin, and he knew he had to get himself together. The mission had to come before his and Allura's time off. They rounded a corner in the hall, and he stopped, held up his fist. "What are _you_ doing here?" he growled.

Romelle stood with her arms crossed over her chest. Tallon and Adamo, her right and left hand men, stood just behind her. "Commander Kogane. Princess Allura." There was wariness in her voice that Keith didn't like. "I'm glad to see the both of you."

"Do you know what's going on?" Allura asked. "We're missing most of our team."

Romelle moved closer to them, and Keith let her come, but kept himself between her and Allura. He still didn't trust the redhead, and he definitely didn't trust her two men. "I don't know anything about that," Romelle said. "We're here because the cannibals attacked us. The three of us are the only ones who managed to get away."

Keith could see the shadows of horror in her sea-green eyes, and he lowered his gun. "Are the three of you hurt?" he asked, keeping one eye on Tallon and Adamo. They both looked exhausted but determined.

"No, we're all right. But the cannibals, they got the rest of my men," Romelle said. A tremor danced through her voice, and Tallon stepped forward to put a hand on her shoulder. "They've grown in number, and they're strong. They were too strong for us to take down," Romelle added.

Allura glanced at Keith before saying to her, "Another acquaintance of ours was also run out of the tunnels by the cannibals."

"Coran," Romelle said. Her shoulders drooped. "I'm sorry to show up so unexpectedly here, but we have nowhere else to go."

"You can stay here," Allura said, and stepped forward to take Romelle's hand in hers. "We've got plenty of food, and the three of you will be safe here."

"Maybe, maybe not," Jeff murmured from behind Keith. "This is wasting our time, Kogane. We need to find the team."

"I know." Keith took a breath. "As Allura said, you're welcome to stay here. But the rest of our team is missing, and we need to find them immediately."

"We can help you." Romelle's pretty eyes flashed. "We are all skilled in combat."

"Thanks for the offer, but—"

"Thank you, Romelle. We'd love the help," Allura said, cutting Keith off. He frowned at her.

Romelle studied the two of them. "You don't seem to be in agreement about this. We will stay here, then. We can protect the castle while you look for your missing teammates."

"That would be a help," Keith said, nodding. "Let's move out." He and Jeff walked past the princess and her two frowning men, and Allura followed a few moments later. He knew she was probably upset, but he wasn't feeling super charitable towards Romelle and her men. They had kidnapped Allura, Madi and Sera, and held them prisoner. And while they hadn't done anything in a while to hamper his team, he wasn't able to forget that kidnapping.

An hour later, they had to concede that their teammates weren't in the castle. It was quiet. Way too quiet. "We better head out to where Shannon and you were," he said, looking at Allura. But she wasn't paying attention to him. She was staring down the hall. A shiver touched his shoulder blades. "Ally? Honey? What is it?" he asked, touching her cheek.

She shook her head a little. "Magic, Keith. Something a lot stronger than I've felt before." She shuddered. "It doesn't feel like Haggar's, or Merla's." The younger witch was, as far they knew, still here on Arus somewhere.

Keith's protective hackles went up. He knew his girlfriend's magic was strong – she'd bonded with the planet and its magic, but that didn't mean she couldn't be hurt. "You feel it throughout the castle, or just right here?" He noticed Jeff pulling his gun from his chest holster.

"I feel it very strongly here," she said, her voice a murmur. She shivered again, an d Keith took hold of her hand, squeezing it. "I think whoever has this magic, that's who has our team," she added. "It feels very hostile to me."

"More than Haggar or Merla?" he asked.

"Yes." Her answer was quick and definite. "It feels cold and hard." She suddenly gasped and almost fell, and he pulled her in tight to his chest. "I'm okay. But we need to get out of the castle."

"Do you think those three brought it with them?" Jeff asked as they hurried down the hall. "I mean, you told me she's the former princess of Pollux, but maybe she has magic too? How much do you two trust her?"

"Not a lot," Keith said. "But she's not magical."

"No, she's not," Allura echoed. "And this is too evil for her, anyway. Romelle might not be the most trustworthy person we know, but she's not evil."

"Good to know," Jeff said as they made their way carefully down the hall. They were almost to the foyer, when Allura stopped and tugged on Keith's arm.

"Whatever this is, it's out there," she said. "And it's angry."

"Can you actually see it?" Jeff asked.

"No," she told him. "It's a feeling. But if we go out there, outside, we're going to get hurt."

"You said we needed to leave," Keith pointed out.

"I know. But this magic, it's ahead of me. I can't keep track of it. And it's growing." There was a finite tremor in her voice. "I know I'm strong, but I'm not sure I could hold my own against this. Not without Madison for backup."

"Well, you've got me," Jeff told her. "I can help you." They looked at him, and Keith saw the determination glinting in his dark blue eyes. "I know I'm not my sister, and I haven't been tapped in that long. But I'm all you've got, so you need to decide, princess. Either we go after this thing, or we run," he added.

"I'll back you two up," Keith added. "I don't own any magic, but I'm a good shot."

Allura took a deep breath, and smiled. "Well, let's get this over with, then. Because I'm a hundred percent certain the person or thing wielding the magic knows where our team is." She started walking toward the huge double doors, and Keith exchanged a look with Jeff.

"Stay close to her," Keith told him. "I've got your backs."

"Oorah," Jeff said, a slight grin on his face.

Keith nodded, and they followed their princess out the doors.


	15. Chapter 15

_I don't own Voltron or any of its associated characters. Madison Dukane is my creation.  
_

 _Thank you for the very nice reviews. To the person who said this was reading kind of like a horror story - thank you! I've really tried to make this series unique to the Voltron universe, and it's fun coming up with new ideas. I'm very much enjoying writing it._

 **CALL OF THE LIONS**

 **SECRETS OF THE LIONS**

 **CHAPTER FIFTEEN:**

Allura stepped out the doors and saw a man standing down past the steps that led to the castle. He was alone, and appeared unarmed. She glanced back, saw Jeff and Keith at her back, and started down the stairs. The magic, black and evil, hung heavy in the air, and she took a deep breath. She knew she could handle herself with Merla and Haggar now, but this was different. This was ancient magic, thick and dark and weaving around her body in ringlets.

The man turned and she saw he was about her age – not what she had expected. He was handsome, with thick blond hair and big blue eyes, and all at once she thought she might faint. He smiled at her, but it was feral and devious. "Hello, sis. You finally came home."

"Luke." She heard Keith's voice, full of surprise and wariness, and tried to steady herself.

"Hello, Kogane," Luke said. He smiled again, but it was cold and hard. "So nice of you to bring my little sister to her rightful home."

"Who told you? About Arus? About who we really are?" Allura asked, finding her voice.

"That's not important right now," Luke said, and started walking toward her. She could feel the dark around him, moving closer to her, and she took a step back. Keith and Jeff put themselves between her and Luke, and she could see him smirk.

"You really think I'm afraid of the two of you? A couple of jarheads?" Luke laughed. "Please."

"Why are you here? Allura said you have dark magic," Keith said. He had his pistol out, and his eyes were locked on Luke.

"Isn't it obvious? This is our home, Kogane. I'm the rightful ruler of this planet." Luke held up a hand, and Allura could see the magic swirling above his palm. She heard Jeff make a disconcerting noise, and figured he must be able to see it too.

"Your magic is black," Allura told her brother, and moved to stand beside the two men. "Why? I've tapped into the magic here, and it's not malicious."

"It's a different kind of magic," he told her. "And I really must insist, Kogane and fellow jarhead, that you let my sister and I have a moment of privacy."

Keith shook his head. "Not a chance, Luke," he said. "Not with all that dark magic you have."

"We know you did something with our team," Jeff added.

"Oh do you now. How clever. That's unusual for a Marine to have a mind of his own," Luke said, smiling. "Now, really. I insist." He spoke some words that were not English, and Jeff and Keith were both thrown off their feet. Allura gasped and tried to run to Keith, but her feet were rooted to the ground. Keith and Jeff lay quiet on the ground, not moving. "Don't worry, sis," Luke said, walking up to her and stroking her long blonde hair, "I didn't really hurt them much."

"Why are you doing this? Why didn't you come see me when you got here? What is going on?" Allura whispered. She found she couldn't raise her voice more than that, and realized he had her shackled more than she'd originally thought.

"I'm the ruler this planet needs, Ally," he said, walking around her, studying her. "You look good. Life on Arus has been good for you." He stopped, leaned in close to her. "But your bond with Kogane is dangerous to you, and to our world." He cast a suspicious look at Keith. "He was with Merla, right? How do you know you can trust anything he says? Merla is powerful, Ally. So powerful. How do you know she didn't do something to him?"

"She _did_ do things to him, but we've come to terms with it," she told him.

"Have you? Really?" He studied her. "You're intelligent. More than he is. Although, it wasn't smart going in to cover those Marines. I would've left them. Any sane person would've."

"That wasn't an option. And Keith and I talked about what happened with Merla. We're not letting that get in-between us."

He smiled, stroked her hair again. The action would've been soothing, if he didn't have her shackled with magic. "We could be very powerful here, Ally. We can help our people, those who have survived Zarkon's attacks." He pointed toward the two fallen Marines. "Kogane is not worthy of you, sis. He never was."

Anger surged through Allura and she wished she had control of her body, because she would slap Luke across the face. "Like hell he isn't," she ground out, frustrated that she couldn't raise her voice higher than a whisper. "He's the very best man for me."

Luke laughed. "No, he's not. I know you have some insane crush on him, like you did when we were kids. But the time for crushes and silly little romances is _over_." His voice dropped to ice, and he grabbed her chin. "You and I are meant to rule Arus, sis. And ruling a planet, making it the most powerful in the universe, something to be _feared_ , isn't in-line with playing at romance." He nodded toward Keith. "You're finished with him."

Keith moaned and tried to push himself up, and Luke growled something under his breath. Keith groaned and went down again. Luke smiled and said, "See, dear sister, he's nothing. I'm not even holding them with that strong of a spell. Your Mechanical Magician friend should be able to break it."

"He's new to all this," she said. "Leave them alone. And what the hell did you do with our team?" She wanted to keep his attention off Keith, for fear he'd do something to hurt him.

"They're safe. Shackled, like you, but safe. I need them to see things my way, you see." He rubbed his chin. "The other Magician, the girl, seems useful to me. She seems to know the lions better than the rest of you."

"She's amazing with the lions," Allura said. Her voice was flat. "But that didn't answer my question: where are they?"

He looked at her, really looked at her, and she saw the madness in his eyes, the lack of any human warmth or conviction. "They're my team now, sweetie. They will do as I tell them, or they will be put down." He opened up his palm, and she saw the swirling black magic. "This magic here, this is ancient, and strong, and I'll use it however I see fit." He met her eyes again. "You will obey me, won't you?"

"Not as long as you think you can sweep in here, take over our team, and tell me Keith isn't fit for me," she whispered. Her blue eyes were like daggers. "Let me loose, and let's talk about this like the grown-ups we are."

His smile faded. "I wish I could trust you. But right now I don't." He shook his head. "So the best option is to keep you shackled." He turned toward the two men.

"What are you going to do?" she said. She tried to fight back against his magic, but it was stronger than hers, and she knew it wasn't of Arus. There was no way it could be. The Arusian magic was white, not black and twisted.

"Don't be alarmed," he said over his shoulder. He approached Jeff and Keith, and stood over them, his hands outstretched, one over Keith, the other over Jeff. As he began to mumble something beneath his breath, the two Marines shot to their feet. They tackled him and put him down on the ground hard, and Keith buried a fist in Luke's face.

"Stay down," he growled and turned toward Allura, leaving Jeff to watch Luke. "Are you okay, sweetheart?" Keith asked.

"I think so." Allura looked down at her brother. "I can't believe, first of all, that he's here. And second of all – what the hell?" Her fury with Luke shook through her voice. "How dare he do this? Are you two okay?"  
"Yeah, we're fine," Keith assured her. He hugged her close to him for a moment. "Still don't know where everyone else is, though."

"We'll find them," she said. "How did you two manage to shake off the magic?"

"That was all Dukane," Keith said, shaking his head.

"I'm not sure," Jeff admitted, moving toward them. "But however I was able to do it, I'm glad. Your brother is something else." Anger tremored through his voice. "With him out cold, how do we find the others?"

"We will." Allura glanced toward the trail that led down to the lions. "Maybe the lions will help us. Jeff, you can talk to them."

"Worth a shot," he said, and the three of them headed toward the cliff.

The clouds were gathering, growing darker, and Allura knew soon the rains would come. It would at least help settle the dust of the planet. They started down the path, and she could see the lions lying around near the entrance to the huge hangar. _Why do they have to be so stubborn? Why won't they work more with Madi and Jeff? Why don't they want to form Voltron?_ Some her frustration with them was knowing none of them had deemed her worthy enough to fly them. That still stung. And hurt. But she had tried to move past that. She was one of the rulers of Arus, and there were other things she could do to help her planet.

They reached the bottom of the trail and started toward the lions, and Keith stopped moving, and put himself in front of her. Jeff had stopped too, and was tense. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary. "What is it?" she whispered.

They didn't answer, and she tried to push past them, but they were too big to move. But then she heard something, a low moaning sound, and the hair on the back of her neck stood to attention. Keith took a step back. "Cannibals," he said, his voice low. "We need to leave."

"And go where?" Jeff asked. "Back to the castle? We'd be trapped there."

"We can't leave Luke," Allura said.

"We could," Jeff disagreed, but she knew he didn't mean it. "All right, but go fast. These guys look hungry." It was meant to be a joke, but it wasn't funny.

"Go," Keith ordered. "I'll cover you."

Jeff gave Allura a gentle push and fell in behind her. She went fast; they'd had contact with the cannibals before, and they were nothing like she'd seen in movies back on Earth. They were quick, and brutal, and she didn't want to fight them. They got to the top of the cliff and she saw that Luke was gone, and groaned to herself. Now they had her crazy brother running around somewhere, unsupervised. _Great, just what we need. We've already Romelle and her guys somewhere around, and our team is still missing._ If she'd had time for a huge theatrical sigh, she would've done it.

"Head toward those cliffs," Keith said, once he'd caught up to them. "They're coming, but not as fast as we can move."

"I keep thinking I should be hearing spooky music," Jeff said as they ran toward the cliffs. "Is there a path to get up there?"

"Don't know," Keith said. "I just know we can't go back to the castle. They might already be in there."

"Sure would be nice if the lions decided to help us," Allura said.

"I don't think they're going to," Keith told her. "We're on our own for now." He stayed behind her and Jeff, keeping them safe from the rear. Allura allowed herself one glance back; the cannibals had crested the trail from the hangar, and she could see them running toward them, some of them carrying what looked like crude clubs. Shivers crossed over her shoulders. "Just keep moving, honey. They won't catch us," Keith assured her, and his quiet confidence gave her a boost.

There was no trail, and they had to scramble up the rocks as best they could. It wasn't lost on Allura that this was what she and Shannon had been doing not so long ago, and she wondered where the Irish SEAL was, what had happened to him and the rest of their wayward team. That Luke could've hurt them filled her with rage. How could her brother betray her like this? And why was he now so spiteful toward Keith? _He always liked Keith. They always got along pretty well._ His attitude toward her boyfriend was baffling, and she wondered if it had to do with the black magic he was using.

They finally reached the top and had to rest. The clouds were black now, and a fine mist began falling. Jeff tilted his head back. "Just what we need," he mumbled.

"Better than blazing heat," Keith told him. He looked at Allura. "You holding up okay? I know you already had some long treks today."

"No, I'm good," she told him. She was tired, of course, but she could hold her own on a hike. "Did you guys hear anything Luke and I talked about?"

The two men exchanged a look. "Yeah, we heard," Keith said.

Heat burned through her cheeks. "I'm sorry about what he said. I don't know what his problem is."

Keith shook his head. "It's okay. The magic has done something to him. That's not the Luke I know and like."

"We better keep moving," Jeff said. "They're already climbing up. They look angry. Must not be used to fast food."

"Ugh," Allura told him and let Keith tug her to her feet. They started jogging and she wondered just where this was going to end. They were moving away from the castle, and though they each carried a sidearm, there were a lot of cannibals down there. Too many to shoot, for sure. _Cobalt, why won't you guys help us? You know we need you._ She often talked to the blue lion, feeling the most linked to her, even though she was temperamental most of the time. Cobalt remained silent, and not for the first time, she wondered just how sentient the lions really were.

"That looks like a cave entrance up ahead," Jeff said. "Anyone want to chance that?"

"No," Allura and Keith said together, and she shared a smile with him. Why Luke thought Keith was bad for her was beyond her. Keith was her perfect soul mate.

Jeff suddenly grabbed his head and dropped to the ground, and they both ran to him. "Jeff? What's going on? Are you okay?" Keith asked, putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Jeff? Can you hear me?"

"It could be a magical attack," Allura said, studying their friend.

"It's Madison," Jeff whispered. He opened his eyes. "I know where they are."

"Where?" Keith asked.

"In a tunnel. She's afraid, something about rising water. I couldn't really make everything out," Jeff said. His voice was calm, but there was growing panic in his eyes. "Do you know what she's talking about?"

Keith looked at Allura, his face grim. "Yeah, Coran told us the tunnels he and his people used would flood sometimes. It has rained quite a bit lately."

"It doesn't seem like enough to flood, though," Allura said, tapping a nail against her lower lip. "The entrance to those tunnels is through the dungeon in the castle."

Jeff ran a hand through his hair. "We can't go back that way, not with the cannibals coming up the rocks."

"No, but you said there was a cave entrance. We get inside, maybe there will be a tunnel that will lead down to the others," Keith said.

"Worth a shot, right?" Jeff said. He looked at the other two, studied them for a few seconds. "Right?"

"Yes." Allura nodded. "We need to find them and get them out."

"Let's go." Keith led the way, with Jeff covering their rear. Allura didn't mind them keeping her in-between them; the last time she'd gotten close to the cannibals, Sven had been bitten and they'd had to run for their lives. It was amazing that Madi had been able to communicate to Jeff where they were; she knew being brother and sister their bond would be stronger with the magic, but it was still impressive. There had been one time, when they'd first arrived on Arus, that Keith had heard her in his mind, but since that time, they hadn't been able to establish a link through their minds. Maybe they would have to try it again.

They were quiet as they entered the cave, and Allura stayed close to Keith. It was dark and as they moved further toward the back, she could smell the distinct scent of water. "It slopes down here," Keith called over his shoulder. "Watch your heads."

As they started down the path at the back of the cave, thunder roared overhead, and Allura could hear the pounding of rain. If they did get a lot of rain, how long did it take the tunnels to flood? She knew there were underground ponds and tributaries and rivers, and if their teammates were being held close to one of those, it was possible they could be in danger from flooding. _We need to find them before that happens._ A shudder went through her at the thought of her friends being trapped with rising water.

The tunnel sloped in a sharp downward turn, and soon leveled out into a cavern. "Has Madi tried to contact you again?" Keith asked, turning to Jeff.

Jeff shook his head. "No, and I'm not sure where she is, either." He closed his eyes, concentrating for a few moments. "I can't seem to reach out to her." There was frustration in his voice.

"We'll find them," Keith assured him. "We just need to look." He gave Allura's forearm a squeeze. "Just stay together, and stay close." He moved off into the tunnel on the other end of the cavern, and with a glance between one another, Allura and Jeff followed. The tunnel was as Allura remembered the other ones she'd been in: tight, dark as night, and musty. She patted the gun at her hip, just to reassure herself that things were okay. And she knew they would be all right – Keith would make sure of that.

They emerged into another cavern, and this time, she and Keith looked at one another. "We've been here," Keith said, his voice low.

"Which tunnel do we take, though?" Allura asked. There were two tunnels leading off the cavern in the opposite directions.

"We're not splitting up," Keith said. "We need to stick together. Jeff, anyway you have a guess which way to go?"

"No," Jeff said. "I just know that she was really scared, and she doesn't scare easily."

"No, she doesn't. No one on our team does," Allura said. She closed her eyes, and reached out with her new abilities, searching for the right path. _Madi, if you can feel me or hear me, please, tell me where you are._ She waited, patient, knowing the magic didn't always work as fast as she'd like.

 _ **GO RIGHT.**_

Cobalt's voice was lightning in her mind, and she gasped, her eyes flying open. Keith took two steps to her side and put his hand on her arm.

"Allura? Sweetheart?"

"I'm okay." She squared her shoulders. "Cobalt said to go right."

"Right it is," Jeff said, striding toward that entrance.

"You sure you're okay?" Keith asked, not following after their friend. He put his hands on Allura's shoulders and gave them a gentle squeeze.

"I'm okay," she said, nodding. "I'm glad Cobalt decided to help. I was trying to reach out to Madison." _Thank you, Cobalt._

"Okay. Stay close." Keith turned away, and she followed, hoping they would find the others soon.

The tunnel to the right was dank, with water streaming down the walls, and she wondered if it ran under a pond or something. A critter scurried past her, its tiny toes skittering on the hard rock, and she shuddered. She'd never been a big fan of rats and mice. A few feet more and she noticed puddles of water on the floor of the tunnel, each one getting bigger as they descended. _I hope we find them soon. Maybe they're even in this one._

"Getting deeper," Keith said over his shoulder, and she noted that he sounded wary. But she knew he and Jeff would keep going, no matter what, because their team needed them. And she would follow, because they were her team and her friends, as well. And she was no quitter, no matter how bad or scary the circumstances got. Her career in the Air Force had certainly shown that.

The tunnel sloped down hard all at once, and soon they were slogging through water up to their waists. Keith had reached back and taken hold of her hand, giving it occasional squeezes. She appreciated his concern. When they finally reached the next cavern, the two men were almost to their chests in water, and she was up to her neck.

"You think there's a pond or underground river that's overflowing?" Jeff asked. He too was wary, his dark blue eyes darting over the cavern.

"It could be," Keith said, nodding. He cocked his head to the side, listening, and said, "I think I hear voices." He pointed across the cavern, where another tunnel started. As they made their way, slowly, over to the tunnel, they saw that it was almost submerged.

"Do you think Luke actually trapped them in the tunnel?" Allura asked. "I mean, I wonder if he bound them or something."

"Madison! Lisa!" Jeff yelled into the tunnel, and they listened. A distant yell reached them, and Keith turned to Allura.

"Stay here," he told her. When she opened her mouth, he shook his head. "No. If you're right, and they're bound in any way, it's going to be scary enough trying to free them before they drown. I don't want to be worrying about you, too."

She narrowed her eyes. "With all due respect, Keith Akira Kogane, you're going to need all the help you can get if they've all been tied or chained up." She dared him with her eyes to disagree.

"She's right, Keith," Jeff said. "Come on. They need us." He started wading into the tunnel.

Keith huffed out a breath, leaned down, and kissed Allura hard. "Okay, but be careful. Promise me that."

"I will be. You too."

He nodded and turned to follow Jeff. The water was almost over Allura's head, but she wasn't letting that stop her. She was an excellent swimmer, and she had friends to rescue. And then, when this was all over, and everyone was safe again, she was going to find Luke and make him pay for what he'd done.


End file.
